The Hunchback of Notre Dame
by KayleyK1472
Summary: The Disney movie in novelized form. (chapter 6 now fixed)
1. Chapter 1

Dark was the night when our tale was begun near the docks of Notre Dame.

A band of four frightened gypsies quietly proceeded down the Seine, hoping to avoid detection. A baby in a beautiful woman's arms begins to cry, his wails breaking the stillness of the night around them.

"Shut it up, will you!" One of the men hissed at her.  
"We'll be spotted!"  
The gypsy mother looked down and cradled her child closer to her chest, trying to sooth him down. "Hush, little one!"

The boatman held out his hand. He was a grizzled looking man with crooked fingers and beady eyes.

"Four guilders for safe passage into Paris," he said.

Little did they know that a trap had been laid for the innocent gypsies. As the pounding of horse hooves echoed through the streets coldly, they gazed up with fear and alarm. Who they saw sent chills through their bodies as they locked eyes with a figure who's clutches were as iron and cold as those of the bells of Notre Dame.

The figure belonged to none other than Judge Claude Frollo.

Frollo longed for nothing more than to purge the world of vice and sin. He saw corruption everywhere in the streets of Paris. It crept in every nook and cranny and poisoned the hearts of the peasant folk. It glittered like cold hard stones in the eyes of every foul creature who dared to call himself gypsy. Their beliefs were wicked, wrong, and they must be stopped before they endangered everyone in the world. It was Frollo's duty to snuff them out, just as the Lord would have done.

Frollo was an aging man defined by his wrinkled face and white hair. As the Minister of Justice and a high-ranking public official, he was most frequently dressed in black robes, a purple and black striped hat with a red ribbon attached, and shoulder pads with red stripes. He also wears rings on his fingers, two on the right and one on the left, with the jewels colored red, green, and blue.

"Bring these gypsy vermin to the Palace of Justice," he ordered his men.

One of the guards immediately turned to the female gypsy as she cradled her precious baby, desperate to keep him from harm.

"You there! What are you hiding?" the guard hissed, stomping towards her.

Frollo looked upon the small woman coldly. "Stolen goods, no doubt. Take them from her."

Not about to just hand her only child over straight to the hands of death, she did the only thing she could do.

She ran.

As the gypsy mother tries to escape with her baby, Judge Frollo gave chase on horseback. After a long run through the twisting city streets, she finally reached the grand doors of Notre Dame and pounded on them desperately.

"Sanctuary! Please give us sanctuary!"

Frollo finally catches up to her on the steps of the cathedral as she tried to make another break for it, knowing there was no time to wait for someone to open the doors.

With violence and anger raging through him, he ripped the still covered bundle from her arms, and kicks her, sending her crashing to the cement steps, where she is knocked unconscious.

The baby begins to cry.

Frollo was mildly surprised by this. "A baby?"

He uncovered the baby's head, only to see the deformed infant hidden inside. The sheer shock of the creature nearly caused him to drop it onto the hard cold ground. Only such a foul and hideous...demon...as he could possibly come from none other than a gypsy.

"A monster!" Frollo gasped.

Knowing that the deformed baby would need to be destroyed, he quickly looked around for someway to dispose of it. He turned around, spotting a well, and rode over to it. He was about to drop the baby down the well when a voice shouted out, breaking the stillness of the night.

"Stop!," cried the archdeacon as he dashed forward, cradling the fallen woman on the ground.  
"This is an unholy demon. I'm sending it back to hell, where it belongs!" Frollo growled, trying to justify his murderous intent.

"Look at the innocent blood you have spilt on the steps of Notre Dame, and now you would add this child's as well?" the archdeacon continued, furious and appalled at Frollo's actions.

"I am guiltless-she ran, I pursued. My conscience is clear!" the judge replied, nonchalant about the entire event. These people were no concern to him...they were a lowly people.

The archdeacon stood, holding the woman still. His eyes were cold and angry as he fixed Frollo with a cold and almost pitying gaze. "You can lie to yourself and your minions and claim that you have no qualm. But you, Claude Frollo, will never be able to successfully hide nor run what you have done. The very eyes of Notre Dame have seen it all, and they will never forget."

For the first time in his life, a life that had always been filled with control and ultimate power, Frollo began to feel a sliver of fear for his immortal soul. The archdeacon was right. The eyes of Notre Dame had seen all, and as he gazed up into the eyes of the statues, he felt as if they were piercing his soul, pinning him to the ground as they wordlessly burned him.

"What must I do?" he asked, almost desperately.  
"Care for the child, raise it as your own," the archdeacon said simple as he began back towards his church.  
Frollo was shocked. Care for the monster of a witch? This had to be some cruel joke.

"What? I'm to be saddled with this misshapen-" He paused as a thought crept through his mind and across his face. "Very well. Let him live with you, in your church."  
"Live here? But where?"  
"Anywhere. Just so he's kept away where no one else will lay eyes on him. The bell tower, perhaps. And who knows-our Lord works in mysterious ways. Even this foul creature may prove to be of use to me someday."...  
….And with that Frollo, took him in and gave the child a cruel name. A name that meant half-formed…

Quasimodo.


	2. Chapter 2

As the morning bells of Notre Dame ran out through the cathedral, the disfigured form of Quasimodo swung down from where he had been working, landing on the main floor below. He stumbled his way out the balcony, overlooking the city. This was a favorite pastime of his as there was not much else to do here other than ring the bells all day.

He was a slender hunchback figure. But despite his grisly appearances, he was very handsome, with pale skin, both red hair and eyebrows, and blue eyes that sparkled with kindness and warmth. He was slightly buck-toothed and had a deformed face, plump arms, and a humped back. The only clothes he ever owned and only ever wore was a green short-sleeved tunic with both a brief V-neckline and an olive collar, brown tights, and blue shoes.  
He made his way to the frozen forms of his gargoyle friends, Victor and Hugo. One of the gargoyle statues had his mouth open, with a bird's nest safely nestled inside, sheltered from the wind. At Quasimodo's approach, the little bird that was inside opened his eyes and awakened, chirping his good morning to the world.

"Good morning!" Quasi said, smiling fondly.  
The bird squeaked its approval.  
"Will today be the day? Are you ready to fly?"  
The bird hesitated for a moment before looking away, this time squeaking out its disapproval.  
"You sure? Good day to try. Why, if I picked a day to fly, oh, this would be it! The Festival of Fools! It will be fun-the jugglers, and music, and dancing…" Quasi said, trying to urge the baby to at least try.  
The bird, who had been resting in Quasi's hand, had begun to flap its wings. Quasi slowly removed his hands until the bird was hovering in place. He chuckles and showed his hands to the bird, who finally realised that it was flying. It squeaked joyously to his friend, then a question, as a flock of birds flew by.  
Quasimodo nodded his head understandingly. "Go on! Nobody wants to be cooped up here forever!"  
The bird flew off to join the flock, leaving his friend's hand and soaring into the sky.

Oh, how Quasi wished he could fly away as well, leave this place far behind.

As soon as it's gone, Hugo, and later, Victor - the gargoyles - came to life. Victor was a tall and slender gargoyle, handsome, with big wings and no horns. Hugo on the other hand, was a short and obese gargoyle, with a pig-like nose, stony body, both white horns and hooves, and small bat wings on his back.

Hugo spat out the nest.  
"Oh, man! I thought he'd never leave! I'll be spittin' feathers for a week!"  
Victor snorted. "Well that's what you get for sleeping with your mouth open."  
Hugo gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Heh, heh, heh...go scare a nun! Hey, Quasi! What's goin' on out there? A fight? A flogging?"  
"A festival!" Victor cheered, looking down.  
"You mean the Feast of Fools!?"  
"Uh huh." Quasi said. He had sobered some since the bird had left.  
"All right, all right! Pour the wine and cut the cheese!" Hugo made farting noises in his armpit.  
"It is a treat to watch the colourful pageantry of the simple peasant folk."  
"Boy, nothin' like balcony seats for watching the ol' F.O.F."  
Quasimodo rolled his eyes at them, dejected. "Yeah, watching."  
Quasi turned and left, obviously sad.  
"Hey, look-a mime." Hugo hocked up a phlegm in his throat, and was about to spit, when Victor  
covered his mouth.

Hugo is forced to swallow his prize as Victor nodded towards their friend. They proceeded  
inside to Quasimodo as another gargoyle, Laverne, caught up to them.  
Hugo called over to him. "Hey, hey, what gives?"

"Aren't you going to watch the festival with us?" Victor questioned.  
"I don't get it."  
Victor watched him, worried. "Perhaps he's sick!"  
"Impossible," Laverne snickered. "If 20 years of listening to you two hasn't made him sick by now, nothing will."

Laverne was a slender gargoyle, elderly, and had big wings like an eagle, and pointed horns that rested atop her head.  
Victor was still lost. "But watching the Festival of Fools has always been the highlight of the year for Quasimodo."  
"What good is watching the party if you never get to go hear it?" Birds have begun to roost on Laverne and she waved them away irritably. "Get away from me, go on, you bunch of buzzards! He's not made of stone, like us."  
Laverne goes to Quasi, who was at his table with a model of the city and small toys painted like townspeople.  
"Quasi, what's wrong? You wanna tell ol' Laverne all about it?"  
"I...I just don't feel like watching the festival, that's all."  
Laverne could tell the boy wasn't fessing up. "Well, did you ever think about going there instead?"  
Victor was all for this idea. "Sure!"  
Quasimodo lit up with hope for a moment before looking away, fear and sadness masking his face. "I'd never fit in down there. I'm not...normal."  
"Oh, Quasi, Quasi, Quasi." She paused as the birds have returned to perch on her again. "Do you mind? I'm would like to have a moment with the boy, if it's alright with you!"  
Hugo came over and rested his hooved hand on Quasi. "Hey, quit beating around the bell tower. Whadda we gotta do? Paint you a fresco?"  
"As your friends and guardians, we insist you attend the festival," Victor said, smiling at his friend.  
Quasimodo was shocked by this. He had often thought of going down and joining the city for once in his life...but actually doing it? That was another matter entirely. "Me?!"  
Hugo appeared with a figurine of a Pope, from Quasi's tabletop scene. "No, the Pope. Of course, you!"  
Victor shoved the Pope figurine in Quasi's mouth.  
"It would be a veritable pope-pourri of educational experience."

Hugo pulls the figurine out of Quasi's mouth. "Wine, women and song!"  
"You can learn to identify various regional cheeses!"  
"Bobbing for snails!"  
"And the indigenous folk music."  
"Dunk the monk!"  
Laverne shook her head at them before returning her attention to the boy. "Quasi, take it from an old spectator. Life's not a spectator sport. If watchin's all you're gonna do, then you're gonna watch your life go by without you."  
Hugo nodded. "Yeah, you're human, with the flesh, and the hair, and the navel lint. We're just part of the architecture, right Victor?"  
"Yet, if you chip us, will we not flake? If you moisten us, do we not grow moist?"  
Laverne ignored him. "Quasi, just grab a fresh tunic and a clean pair of hose and-"  
"Thanks for the encouragement, but you're all forgetting one thing," Quasimodo said. All the planning and scheming wouldn't mean a thing in the end.  
"What?"  
"My master, Frollo."  
The gargoyles deflated dejectedly. "Oh, yeah, right…"  
Victor was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Well, when he says you're forbidden from ever leaving the bell tower, does he mean "ever ever?"  
"Never ever! And he hates the Feast of Fools! He'd be furious if I asked to go."

"Who says you gotta ask?" Hugo questioned.  
Quasimodo was horrified by the very idea. "Oh, no."  
Hugo wasn't having any of his excuses. "Ya sneak out…"  
"It's just one afternoon…" Laverne pushed.  
"I couldn't-"  
"...and ya sneak back in."  
"He'll never know you were gone."  
Quasimodo was almost starting to agree with them. "I mean, if I got caught-"  
"Better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission."  
Quasimodo hesitated. "He might see me."  
"You could wear a disguise. Just this once. What Frollo doesn't know can't hurt you!"  
Victor nodded. "Ignorance is bliss."  
Hugo looked aside. "Look who's talking…"  
Laverne smiled gently and turned him to her, quoting him from earlier. "Nobody wants to stay cooped up here forever."  
Quasi thought for a moment, then a smile creeped across his face. He could do this...he should do it. why not? He had spent his entire life up here, obeying every word from his master. He deserved this, just one day with them was all he needed. And if he wore a disguise then no harm done, know would would have to know.  
"You're right! I'll go!" The gargoyles cheered at their friend's newfound courage. "I'll get cleaned up. I'll stroll down those stairs. I'll march through the doors and-"  
Quasi and the 'goyles had been advancing on the door leading downstairs. As Quasi neared it, Frollo appeared in the doorway suddenly, cutting Quasi short and returning the 'goyles to stone.  
Frollo looked down upon him coolly. "Good morning, Quasimodo."

"Ah-um, good...morning, master…" he stuttered, shocked, his courage vanishing the innocent he laid eyes on his master.  
"Dear boy, whomever are you talking to?"  
"My...friends."  
"I see." He tapped Hugo on the head. "And what are your friends made of, Quasimodo?"  
Quasimodo looked down guiltily. "Stone."  
"Can stone talk?"  
"No, it can't."  
"That's right. You're a smart lad. Now...lunch."  
Upon hearing the word, Quasi went off and retrieved a table setting-a silver chalice and plate for Frollo and a wooden cup and plate for himself.  
"Shall we review your alphabet today?" Frollo asked.  
Quasimodo nodded. "Yes, master. I would like that very much."  
"Very well. A?"  
"Abomination."  
"B?"  
"Blasphemy."  
"C?"  
"C-c-c-contrition."  
"D?"  
"Damnation."  
"E?"  
"Eternal damnation!"  
"Good. F?"  
"Festival."

Oh no. As soon as the word slid through Quasi's lips he wished he could take it all back.  
Frollo spat out his drink at the incorrect response.  
"Excuse me?"  
Quasimodo stuttered to try and fix his mistake. "Forgiveness!"  
Frollo stood, his voice quivering with anger. "You said...festival."  
"No!"  
"You are thinking about going to the festival."  
Quasimodo sighed, knowing there was no point in lying. He followed after Frollo as he made his way over to the balcony. "It's just that...you go every year."  
"I am a public official. I must go! But I don't enjoy a moment. Thieves and hustlers and the dregs of humankind, all mixed together in a shallow, drunken stupor."  
Quasimodo flinched at his tone. "I didn't mean to upset you, master."  
"Quasimodo, can't you understand? When your heartless mother abandoned you as a child , anyone else would have drowned you. And this my thanks for taking you in and raising you as my son?"  
Quasimodo felt his heart throb at the mention of his mother...All his life he'd never had a mother. He'd had Frollo who had washed and took care of him as a baby. He'd raised him and taught him how to read, taught him all the wickeds of the world...like the gypsies. The gypsies frightened Quasi more than anything had ever frightened him. Frollo had taught him how evil they were and their manipulative ways. They were demons sent from hell to take all the good in the world and fill it with witchcraft and sin.

How could Quasi have even thought of betraying such a good man as Frollo?

"I'm sorry, sir. "  
"Oh, my dear Quasimodo, you don't know what it's like out there. I do...I do…"

He led Quasimodo out to the balcony where they overlooked the city. He rested his hand across the hunchback's shoulders, even though the very feeling of being this close to the boy was nauseating to Frollo. "Quasi, the world is a cruel and wicked place to live. I am the only one you can trust in this city. I am your only friend. I can look upon you without fear, unlike all the others who would scream and hate you for your appearances. I can not protect you unless you remain in here."

Quasimodo nodded sadly, tears stinging in his eyes. Frollo was right as always. He was deformed and ugly, a monster. No one would ever trust him, befriend him...love him. He would always remain alone.

Frollo continued, looking ahead without remorse as his words cut Quasimodo through to the bone. "Your ugliness is a crime that the world will show little pity for. I am your one defender and out there, they will only revile you as a monster"

"I am a monster," Quasi repeated softly.

"Out there they would scorn you."  
"Only a monster…"

Frollo looked down slightly, knowing he had him. "So. Quasi. Be faithful to me and i will protect you."

"I am, Master. I am," Quasi said, nodding obediently. "I'll stay in here."  
Frollo nodded and then went to leave.  
Quasimodo looked after him guiltily. "You are good to me, master. I'm sorry."  
"You are forgiven. But, remember, Quasimodo: this is your sanctuary."  
Quasimodo looked around sadly, feeling trapped and hopeless. "Sanctuary."  
Frollo turned, and then was gone.  
Quasi stood silently for a moment, and looked around.

Was this to be his life? Was there really nothing more for him? True, he was safe behind the windows and parapet's of stone, but he was alone. The closest thing he'd ever some to being out there was as he hid up in his tower.

All his life he'd stood by and memorized their faces as day after day came to pass. He knew them better than anyone, yet none of them even knew what he looked like. He wondered what it would be like to be with them, a part of their world and city, for just a day.


	3. Chapter 3

Down on the street level, where, in the midst of all the activity, walked Phoebus and his horse, Achilles. The gallant Phoebus was currently the Captain of the King's Guard and a French Knight of the King's Army. He had been sent here to the city by a summon from someone who was known to be very powerful and a close ally to the king.

As he walked through the old city street's he'd once called him, he consulted a map to avoid getting lost on his first day on the job.  
"Huh, ya leave town for a couple of decades and they change everything," he said to Achilles.  
He looked and saw a pair of guards walking by. Stepping forward, he decided it might be better to ask for directions instead of wandering around aimlessly.  
"Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm looking for the Palace of Justice. Would you-" They completely ignore him." -hmmm, I guess not."

Nice, very nice. Well, I suppose i shouldn't have expected a nice welcome home or something. I haven't been home in years...no one would remember me.

With a shrug, he moved on.  
Meanwhile, in a corner, the gypsy Esmeralda and her pet goat Djali were dancing for change, something that immediately caught and held Phoebus's attention.

Well, Esmeralda did.

She was absolutely the most breathtaking creature he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of women in his day. Slender and beautiful, she had medium skin, long wavy black hair that was as dark and soft looking as a raven's wind, thick black eyebrows, black eyelashes, red lips, and blazing emerald green eyes that shone with a passion and defiant fire. A golden hoop earring adorned her left ear, a golden bangle on her left wrist, and matching bracelet and anklet on both her right hand and right ankle.

Her clothing choice was equally as appealing as her appearance. She wore a dress consisting of a white off-the-shoulder top with puffy elbow-length sleeves, collar, and a very brief V-cut neckline that shows her breast cleavage, a teal bodice with thin gold vertical stripes, lavender skirt, and purple sarong with both a gold border and about 4 round tassels. She also wore a white petticoat, pink ribbon that tied her hair back, and she was barefoot.

A woman and her child walk by just then, but the woman steered her child away.

"Stay away, child-they're gypsies. They'll steal us blind," she hissed.

Phoebus was surprised by this. Though he did not know her, the gypsy had looked upon the child with a kind tender expression...surely her intentions were not to steal from them?  
Entranced by Esmeralda's dancing, he smiled softly and drops a few coins into the hat on the ground. Soon, a boy on top of the wall whistled.

Everything came to a halt, and just as quickly, they all scrambled for cover. As Djali grabbed the hat, coins flew everywhere. He ran, and Esmeralda ran out to grab the money. As she was gathering the change, the guards arrived, confusing Phoebus even further.

What did these people have to be afraid of?  
"All right, gypsy, where'd ya get the money?" one of the guards snapped at her.  
Esmeralda stood slowly, glaring darkly at the men. "For your information, I earned it."

"Gypsies don't earn money."  
"You steal it?" the second guard asked, making a grab for the hat.  
Esmeralda snorted. "You'd know a lot about stealing!"  
"Troublemaker!"

"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down."  
She fought them, and eventually escaped. As the guards began to chase, Phoebus blocked them with Achilles, and they fell to the ground. The first guard who had started to harass the gypsy girl was in the right spot, and...  
"Achilles! Sit!"  
Achilles did as he was told, and sat on top of the guard.  
Phoebus feigned embarrassment and remorse. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry. Naughty horse, naughty! He's just impossible! Really, I can't take him anywhere."  
"Get this thing off me!"  
The other guard quickly approached Phoebus. "I'll teach you a lesson, peasant!"  
He whipped out a small dagger, to which Phoebus pulled out his shining sword, revealing his golden armor as well that identified him as the Captain.  
Phoebus smirked slightly. "You were saying...Lieutenant?"  
The guard quickly realized who it was he was threatening and he shrunk back slightly in fear.

"Oh, Captain! At your service, sir!"  
Phoebus sheathed his sword, then bent down to the guard who was still under Achilles. "I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but...the Palace of Justice?"  
After he let the guard up, the two men quickly made a path for their Captain and his horse and escorted him through the crowd to the Palace of Justice. As he walked, he saw some coins on the ground. He picked them up and dropped them in the hat of an old man sitting on the street.

After he passed, the "old man" pulled his hood down to reveal Djali sitting on Esmeralda's head. She looked at him curiously, wondering who on earth he was and why he had helped a gypsy.


	4. Chapter 4

At the Palace of Justice, Frollo stood in the dungeon, where a guard in the next room is whipping a prisoner - his former Captain of the guard. As Frollo listened to the man's screams, his lips curling with pleasure at the sounds, Phoebus entered the room.

Frollo sneered.

Perfect timing this one had.  
"Guard!" Frollo called out.  
"Sir?"  
"Ease up. Wait between lashes. Otherwise the older sting will dull him to the new." Why make his punishment easier on him? Let him suffer.  
"Yes, sir."  
Frollo turned to Phoebus as the guard disappeared again.  
Frollo smiled with false warmth. "Ah, so this is the gallant Captain Phoebus, home from the wars."  
If Phoebus had been bothered by the man's screams or Frollo's words, he didn't show it. The man was stone faced and ready for action. "Reporting for duty, as ordered, sir."  
"Your service record precedes you, Phoebus. I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your calibre."  
"And you shall have it, sir. I guarantee it."  
"Yes. You know, my last captain of the guard was, um, a bit of a disappointment to me…"  
A whip cracked just then and a scream interrupted Frollo, who looked at Phoebus knowingly. Phoebus appeared startled at the crack and the double meaning behind Frollo's look. The warning came across loud and clear and all the Captain could do was stare.  
Frollo moved on after a moment and began leading him back to the upper floors of the Palace. "Well, no matter. I'm sure you'll whip my men into shape."  
"Uh, thank you, sir, uh, very, uh, trem-uh, a tremendous honour, sir."

The two did not speak again until they were in a private room on the most upper floor. Phoebus walked alongside his new boss, as silent as a ghost as he looked around curiously. He assumed that this was where Frollo made his home. Together, they walked to the balcony to look over the city as Frollo began speaking again.  
"You come to Paris in her darkest hour, Captain. It will take a firm hand to save the weak-minded from being so easily misled.  
"Misled, sir?"  
"Look, Captain-gypsies."

Phoebus followed his pointed finger back down to the city street below. He was easily able to make out the gorgeous form of that puzzling gypsy girl from before. Phobos watched as she danced, moving her body in time with the music, a small smile on his face as her hair whipped around her body.

Frollo's voice pulled him back from his starring and brought him to focus again. "The gypsies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways inflame the peoples' lowest instincts, and they must be stopped."  
Phoebus was a bit surprised by this. "I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm readers?"  
He had been told that the issue here was urgent, more urgent than what was going on in the wars. And to be quite honest, he saw no problems with the gypsy race. They were strange yes and their ways were different from most. But he found them to be about as dangerous as a fly.  
Frollo was oblivious to his thoughts.

"Oh, the real war, Captain, is what you see before you. For twenty years, I have been taking care of the gypsies, one...by...one."  
On each of the last three words, Frollo crushed one of three ants on a tile with his long slender finger. He then flipped the tile over, revealing scores of ants scurrying around underneath.  
"And yet, for all of my success, they have thrived. I believe they have a safe haven, within the walls of this very city. A nest, if you will. They call it the Court of Miracles."

He said the name with distaste and a roll of his beady eyes.  
Phoebus was hesitant, unsure of where this was going. "What are we going to do about it, sir?"  
Frollo smiled nastily and slammed the tile back down upside down, and turned it, crushing the  
remainder of the ants.  
Phoebus shook off his unease at this. "You make your point quite vividly, Sir."  
"You know, I like you Captain. Shall we?"  
He began to leave, when the crowd below suddenly began to cheer loudly.  
Frollo's enthusiasm immediately melted and he groaned. "Oh, duty calls. Have you ever attended a peasant festival, Captain?"  
"Not recently, sir."  
"Then this should be quite an education for you. Come along."


	5. Chapter 5

Back down at ground level, Quasimodo was currently climbing down the side of the cathedral. Despite his promises to Frollo and the truth in his master's words, Quasi just couldn't take it any longer. He'd spend hours reasoning back and forth with his self. Finally, he'd settled on the decision to go ahead and attend the festival on one condition.

Today would be his one day. This would be the one time he would allow his self to go against his master and be free for a while. he would walk the town, enjoy the festival, and then spend the rest of his existence in the bell tower just as Frollo had instructed.

With nerve's and anxiety twisting his stomach into knots, he made it safely down, pulled up his thick cloak and hood to hide his face, and then wandered into the crowd just as an oncoming group of people began to march forward, cheering.

"Come one, come all!" the bellowed. "Leave you work behind and your rules. Come and join our Feast of Fools!"

A man suddenly leapt forward from the crowd, taking the lead of the parade as they marched down the street. Quasi was quick to recognize this man, for he had seen him many times before. Though he did not know him by name, he knew that he was looking at the leader of the gypsies before him.

Quasi felt a twinge of fear as he took in the man's odd appearance. He was a slender man both black hair and beard. He wore purple hat with yellow feather, black gloves, crimson mask, and had on indigo, yellow, and crimson clothing.

So this was the leader of the evil men and women, Quasi thought. Huh, he didn't seem to be as scary or dangerous as Frollo had said.

"My friends!" The man cried out, catching everyone's attention. "Once a year we throw a part in our lovely town, a party that is sure to turn Paris upside down. Here, every man is a king and all our king's will be clowns. It's finally here. Please join me in our celebration of Topsy Turvy Day!"

The watching spectators went crazy and all cheered him on as the man weaved through them all. They cried his name out over and over again.

Clopin. The figure had finally been given a name.

Suddenly, Clopin spotted Quasi and locked eyes with him for a moment, before making his way towards him, smiling and yelling out encouragements over the cheering people as more and more came to join the crowd.

Terrified of the gypsy man, Quasimodo turned and ran away, his heart hammering. He quickly worked his way through the crowd, but he couldn't escape Clopin no matter how hard he tried, who seemed to be trying to get Quasi to come out of his frightened and timid shell, a shell everyone in the crowd could see clear as day.  
To Clopin, today was a day of making friends and having laughs all around. He had no idea who the boy way or that he was afraid of the gypsy people. He just assumed that he was a shy young lad, and he was determined to help him overcome that fear and bring him into the celebration that everyone deserved to be a part of.  
Quasimodo, somehow having had joined a chorus line of dancers, was shoved away as Clopin neared again.

Finally giving up, Clopin moved on as Quasi stumbled through a curtain and came crashing into the dressing tent of Esmeralda - the gypsy dancer.  
"Hey!" The woman gasped, covering herself quickly with a robe. Her eyes flashed with anger for a moment before she realized what had happened. When she saw the boy on the ground, her eyes softened and she bent towards him worriedly. "Are you all right?"  
Quasimodo was almost shaking with fear as he laid eyes on the gypsy. Hiding his face from her, he hopped she wouldn't hurt him or look at him with disgust and horror.

"I didn't mean to...I'm sorry," he stammered, looking away and hiding his ugly face from her view.  
Esmeralda reached for him gently, slowly, like someone trying to calm down a wild animal.

"You're not hurt, are you? Here, here, let's see," she said sofly.

"No, no, no!" he cried in fear.  
Esmeralda tried to pull the hood away from Quasi's face, and he was unsuccessful at stopping her. Djali, upon seeing Quasi's face, sneered in disgust at his face.

Esmeralda, however, didn't even flinch, shocking Quasi.

He studied her face for a moment in shock, taking in her beautiful appearance.  
"There," she smiled. "See, no harm done. Just try to be a little more careful."  
Quasimodo stood, relaxing as he tried to find his words. "I-I-I will."  
He started to leave, unsure of how to react to the strange woman.  
"By the way, great mask!" Esmeralda said before disappearing back inside her tent.

Quasi smiled at the tents opening. So that's why she hadn't been afraid. She thought he'd had a mask on. Instead of upsetting Quasi, this fact only encouraged him. If she thought it was a mask then the others would too. No one would be looking at him in fear today!  
With new excitement coursing through him, he returned to the celebration outside.  
Clopin was calling out again as he danced around with the townspeople merrily, the party in full swing now.  
"Bang the drums and blow the trumpets!" he bellowed. They began flocking towards the stage that had been set up right smack in the middle of the square. Quasimodo followed the crowd, gently weaving through all the people until he had reached the front of the stage where he could watch and see everything clearly. He figured that if he was here for one day only, he might as well have the best seat in the house.  
As Judge Claude Frollo, Phoebus, and the guards entered the festival to their viewing area that had been set up, Clopin jumped onstage to present Esmeralda.  
Clopin spoke loudly and in a mysterious voice, exciting everyone as he spoke. "Hurry, hurry, here's you chance. Come see the mystery and romance! Come, come, all of you. Come see the finest girl in France make an entrance to entrance...Dance Esmeralda...DANCE!"

On the last word, Clopin threw his hand down and disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Esmeralda appeared in his place, wearing a satin red gown that was beyond eye catching, clinging to every single curve of her body perfectly in a flowing river of scarlet and gold fire. She proceeded to perform a sultry dance, catching everyone's eye in the audience, even Frollo's. Every eye of every man in the audience shone with lust and desire as they watched her move her slender hips and body to the music. Esmeralda truly was the most beautiful and desired girl in all of France.  
Frollo hid his surprised attraction to the woman well. He turned to Phoebus, putting on a mask of disgust. "Look at that disgusting display."  
Phoebus, not even paying attention to him, watched the girl enthusiastically, wishing he knew more about her. "Yes, sir!"  
She continued to dance and gracefully made her way over the heads of the crowd until she reached Frollo. She pulled out a lavender shawl with gold stars all over it and wrapped it around Frollo's head playfully, using it to pull him closer. She moved in to kiss him, but jumped away at the last moment. Frollo yanked the handkerchief off his head, appalled yet...disappointed at the same time. Which was not something he should be feeling. He was not a man of sin!  
Clopin came back on stage as Esmeralda finished her dance and coins rained down around her from the crowd, Phoebus even tossing his in.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the piece de resistance!" Clopin cired. "Now it's time to crown the King of Fools! You all remember last year's king!?"  
The last year's king made and entrance, carried on the shoulders of the crowd. He waved his hands drunkenly and belched loudly.

Clopin continued his announcement and Quasi found his self hanging on every word the gypsy man spoke. "So ugly folks forget your shyness. Make a face that is truly as horrible and frightening as a gargoyle's wing. For the face that is the ugliest will be King!"  
Clopin has been pulling contestants onto the stage as he spoke. Esmeralda came over, spotted Quasi, and with a gentle, encouraging smile, she pulled him to the stage and lined him up with the other before he even knew what was happening. Esmeralda then began to work her way down the line, ripping off masks and revealing the ugly faces underneath.

Oh no, Quasimodo thought, his joy and excitement dwindling as she neared him. They would see...they would know...they would scorn...

The festivities continued until Esmeralda reached Quasi. She tried to pull Quasi's "mask" off, but soon realized that it was no mask she was gripping, but real human flesh. She recoiled slightly in shock, and the action felt like a slap to the face to Quasi.

The audience around him was quick to realize the same thing as Esmeralda and they all fell into a quiet hush.  
"That's no mask!"

"It's his face!"  
"He's hideous!"  
"It's the bell ringer from Notre Dame!"  
Quasi, realizing that people were disgusted by him, was utterly devastated. Frollo had been right, every thing he had been told had been the cold, hard, unpleasant truth. he should have stayed in his tower - his brief freedom was not worth this humiliation he was feeling as he stood alone on the stage, with the crowd laughing and mocking him.  
Frollo just realized that the only man left standing on stage was Quasimodo and his face twisted with embarrassment and anger.

How dare he defy me! Me!

Quasi looked over at Frollo, knowing he had been caught, and felt guilt, fear, and anguish wash through him in a powerful wave that made his knees buckle and almost caused him to crumble to the ground.  
Clopin, trying to keep things festive, jumped in with a gentle hand around the hunchback's shoulder. Quasi was shocked.

Clopin was the only one looking at him without fear, or disgust. He was actually touching him! He wasn't afraid...  
"Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic. We asked for the ugliest face in Paris, and here he is! Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame!"  
Upon hearing Clopin, the crowd once again grew festive, and Clopin crowned Quasimodo the King of Fools. Quasi was so stunned by this he wasn't sure what to think. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, because of a gypsy noless, the audience was now cheering him instead of booing. They had made him King of Fools! For the first time in his life, he felt loved, cherished, admired. The warm glow from the people's affection he had never gotten as a child made him almost dizzy with happiness.  
He was ushered off the stage and into the former kings chair, where two very pretty girls leaned down a pecked him gently on the cheek. The skin from where they kissed him tingled with warm and Quasi smiled at them, abashed. As the people carried him through the streets, cheering and calling his name, he began to relax and join in their glee.

Perhaps Frollo had been wrong?

He was taken to a rotating platform not too far from the stage - so he would have his own personal on - where everyone could see him clearly as they celebrated his victory.

"Hail to the king!" Clopin cried and the audience went crazy, throwing flowers and confetti like papers all around Quasi. He raised his hands with glee, smiling and laughing along with the crowd as their gifts fell all around him.

From above, the Gargoyles whooped and cheered, while down on the ground, the crowd chanted "Quas-i-mod-o!"

To the side, a couple of guards were watching the entire thing with boredom. How could these people celebrate or give praise to anyone or anything so ugly?  
"You think he's ugly now? Watch this!" one of the guard said, a cruel smirk on the overgrown bully's face.  
He threw a tomato at Quasi, hitting him square in the face as the ripe fruit exploded all over him in juicy red flesh. The crowd, that had only been cheering moments before, quickly went dead silent.  
"Now that's ugly!" the guard laughed.

"Hail to the king!" another guard called mockingly, throwing another tomato as Frollo's other followers quickly joined in the throwing. Soon, Quasi was being pelted with produce of all kinds. Shouts come from all directions as the audience, like a herd of sheep, turned on him, lashing out with all the cruelty, anger, and disgust they could muster.

Quasi was soon lassoed and tied down on a rotating platform. He was then spun around, as onlookers continued their torment, still throwing various items that pummeled Quasi's body from every angle. He saw Frollo watching and shouted for help, begging his master to understand and forgive him.  
"Master! Master, please! Help me!"  
Phoebus for one had seen enough. He was disgusted and horrified by his men. The boy was human same as them. How could they treat their equal like somely lowly animal? How could Frollo let this go on?  
Phoebus turned to him. "Sir, request permission to stop this cruelty."  
Frollo stared straight ahead darkly, angry and taking pleasure in Quasi's misery as he always did.

"In just a moment, Captain. A lesson needs to be learned here."  
As soon as he's said this, the crowd suddenly gasped and went so silent, you could have heard a coin drop on the next street over.

Phoebus and Frollo look up to the stage and saw Esmeralda ascending the steps, slowly and with caution. She was back in her normal clothing and though Quasi looked up in fear at her approach, she reminded him of an angel sent from heaven as the light of the day shone around her, framing her gentle face and kind eyes with soft gentle light.  
She kneeled next to Quasimodo who cringed back slightly in fear.

What was she going to do.

She untied her sash and gently wiped some tomato flesh from his face. The touch was so kind and gentle, Quasi momentarily forgot the audience around him and became entranced by Esmeralda.  
"Don't be afraid," she said gently, and at her words, his fear did indeed start to fade. "I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen."  
Frollo stood, furious that his entertainment had been interrupted. "You! Gypsy girl! Get down at once!"  
Esmeralda looked up and stood, retying her sash around her slender waist. "Yes, your honour. Just as soon as I free this poor creature."  
"I forbid it!"  
She whipped out a knife that was attached to a string around her slight leg and cut the ropes holding Quasi, glaring at Frollo in defiance and anger. Out of all the people here, even the gypsy leader Clopin, Esmeralda was the only one who had enough courage to stand against their Judge and challenge him.  
Frollo was enraged. "How dare you defy me!"  
"You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people. You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help," she snapped, gesturing to Quasi as she called Frollo out.  
"Silence!" he barked, practically foaming at the mouth.  
Esmeralda refused to back down and raised her fist in the air. "Justice!"

She then bent over and, defying Frollo even further, she removed the ropes from Quasimodo and helped him stand. He gazed upon the beautiful, fierce woman with wonder and gratitude. She was not at all like the other gypsies. She was...wonderful.  
"Mark my words, gypsy. You will pay for this insolence," Frollo threatened.  
"Then it appears we've crowned the wrong fool. The only fool I see is you!" She snatched the floppy crown from Quasi's head and threw it through the audience to where it landed at Frollo's feet.  
Frollo had had enough. "Captain Phoebus! Arrest her."  
Phoebus motioned for his guards to move in and arrest Esmeralda, as much as he pained him to do so. They surrounded the stage almost immediately, sneering at her.  
Quasi watched as she stood against them, unflinching. Any other woman would have cowered in fear, but not her. She was completely unafraid - in fact she seemed amused.

"Now, let's see," she said and started counting the guards. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten of you, and one of me. What's a poor girl to do?"  
She begins to cry a little dramatically, then abruptly stopped and "blew" her nose and immediately disappeared in an explosion of red smoke.  
Frollo recoiled, frightened. "Witchcraft!"  
From another location, back on the original stage, Esmeralda's voice spoke, catching everyone's attention.  
"Oh, boys! Over here!" she called tauntingly, batting her big eyelashes.  
She lead the guards on a wild chase through the audience. At one point, she knocked a large  
cage containing an old prisoner to the ground. It went rolling away, until it came to a stop and the lock broke open. The prisoner stepped out, smiling a crooked, broken toothed smile as he hobbled away.  
"I'm free, I'm free!" the old man cried.  
He tripped over his own feet and fell right into the stockade, which closed and locked with the force of his impact.  
"Dang it."  
Meanwhile, Esmeralda continued to evade the guards. At one point, she and Djali jumped on top of the crowd, which carried them away to safety. Two guards attempted the same move, and the crowd quickly moved away. She grabbed a helmet from one of the guards, and threw it like a frisbee. It hit three guards and knocked them out, before almost chopping Phoebus' head off.  
Phoebus looked up, a big goofy smile on his face as he followed her every movement, completely captivated by her. "What a woman!"  
Two guards on horseback were chasing Esmeralda. As she leapt over Frollo's stand, someone threw the guards a staff. Each holding onto an end, the horizontal staff sliced through Frollo's stand, sending him diving for cover. Esmeralda ascended to the top of a stand, then promptly disappeared.  
Frollo spun around to face Phoebus, livid with anger. "Find her, Captain! I want her alive!"  
"Yes, sir. Seal off the area, men. Find the gypsy girl, and do not harm her!" Phoebus ordered, praying that they wouldn't find her at all.

Frollo had ridden over to Quasimodo by this point and was now fixing him with a dark, furious glare.

Quasi's smile, which had appeared while watching his hero make her grand escape, disappeared and he hung his head low.  
Quasimodo was so ashamed he couldn't look his master in the eye. he had made a terrible mistake.

Whispering, he said, "I'm sorry, master. I will never disobey you again."  
He moved to the entrance to the cathedral as the rain began to fall, coming down in icy sheets that made Quasi's clothes stick to him like a second, torn up skin.  
He went in, then slowly closed the door to his freedom, tears blurring his vision as his heart slowly went to pieces.


	6. Chapter 6

Phoebus and the guards were still searching for Esmeralda hours later after the hunchback had disappeared. Little did they know, she was disguised, again with Djali, as the old man.

She was slowly sneaking into the church just as Phoebus saw her and recognized who it was. He had fallen for that disguise once before but not this time. With a small smile on his face, he followed her in alone.

Inside, he found her standing in the cathedral, her disguise gone as she looked around. As Phoebus came up behind her, she was more alert than she appeared and she turned suddenly and grabbed his sword, taking him off guard as she fixed him with her angry emerald eyes.

"You!" she hissed and forced him to the floor, holding him there with the tip of his own sword at his chin.

"Easy, easy-I just shaved this morning," Phoebus said slyly, amused with her fiery spirit.

Esmeralda sneered. "Oh, really? You missed a spot."

"All right, all right. Just calm down. Just give me a chance to apologize."

"For what?"

As she let down her guard for a split second, Phoebus grabbed the sword from her hands and turned it on her, knocking her gently to the floor.

"That, for example," he said, smirking.

Esmeralda turned back to him, her gorgeous face twisted in anger. "You sneaky son of a-"

"Ah, ah, ah! Watch it-you're in a church."

She had picked up a staff with candles on top, making it into a makeshift weapon. "Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky?"

She swung the staff at Phoebus, who blocked it with his sword. He was rather impressed with her skill...she obviously knew what she was doing. Between Esmeralda's swings, he started making some suggestive comments towards the beautiful girl who had ensnared him in her web.

"Candlelight...privacy... music. Can't think of a better place for hand-to-hand combat! You fight almost as well as a man!"

"Funny. I was going to say the same thing about you."

Nice.

"That's hitting a little below the belt, don't you think?"

"No. This is."

She swung one end of the staff at Phoebus' crotch. He quickly blocked it with his sword. Just as she had planned, she quickly hit him in the face with the other end of the staff, putting enough force behind it to knock a normal person out. But Phoebus was no normal person. He was a battle hardened soldier and he shook it off.

"Touche!"

Djali came into the fight then and butted him hard in the chest. Phoebus snorted as he looked at the little goat.

"I didn't know you had a kid."

"Well, he doesn't take kindly to soldiers," Esmeralda growled as the fighting had subsided. It was clear to Phoebus she wasn't walking just about her pet. She wasn't all that fond of them either, he could see it just by the look in her eyes. Not surprising, considering the way the men treated people around here. But he had to make it clear to her that he was not like them at all, that he found them to be cruel and unjust like she did.

"Eh, I noticed. Permit me. I'm Phoebus. It means "sun god." And you are?" he asked, trying to keep things civil. He was determined to keep this woman alive and be her ally. He was...drawn to her. She was special and there was no way he was letting a woman like her go. When he had his sights set on something, he went for it, no matter what the consequences were.

"Is this an interrogation?"

"It's called an introduction," he said softly, sheathing his sword, lowering his defenses.

"You're not arresting me?"

Not if you stay safe and away from the other. "Not as long as you're in here. I can't."

Esmeralda was honestly surprised by this. Regarding him for a moment, she set her staff down, relaxing. Besides, if he tried something she could defend herself easily.

"You're not at all like the other soldiers," she said, studying her face. A small part of her in the back of her mind knew she could trust this man, whoever he was. As she studied his face, a face she found to be very handsome, she shoved the feelings back down. Her first rule was to never let your guard down. especially when it came to handsome men covered in gleaming sheets of armor.

"Thank you," he said, taking that as his first compliment from the woman.

"So, if you're not going to arrest me, what do you want?" she questioned, curious. It was not like a soldier to associate with her for just a quick chat. Phoebus smiled slightly and her breath caught just a tiny bit.

"I'd settle for your name."

She paused a moment before she let a tiny smile flit across her lips. "Esmeralda."

Phoebus stared at her, memorizing every line of her face and saving it to memory. "It's beautiful. Much better than Phoebus, anyway."

As they gazed into each other's eyes, neither noticed Frollo and his guards approaching. Frollo's voice suddenly broke the thick tension floating between the two and they turned, surprised.

"Good work, Captain! Now, arrest her," Frollo commanded, his eyes locked on the girl.

Phoebus felt the strong urge to protect her from his sinister gaze, to shield her from his harsh thoughts. But he could do neither of these things. All he could do was get her to claim sanctuary.

Phoebus still had his back to Frollo. Whispering to Esmeralda, he fixed her with a serious gaze. "Claim sanctuary."

She looked at him oddly, masking her hurt with sheer cold anger. Phoebus was growing desperate as he felt her slipping away from him again.

"Say it!"

"You tricked me!" she growled.

Frollo was growing impatient by this point.

"I'm waiting, Captain."

He couldn't waste any more time trying to get her to say something she never would. He'd have to lie in order to save her life. Bracing his self, he turned back to Frollo, putting on his mask of stone cold soldier.

"I'm sorry, sir. She claims sanctuary. There's nothing I can do."

"Then drag her outside at-"

The archdeacon had entered and stormed over to the gypsy, stepping in front of her. "

Frollo! You will not touch her!" Dropping his glare, he turned to Esmeralda, leading her away gently. "Don't worry. Minister Frollo learned years ago to respect the sanctity of the church."

Furious, Frollo and the guards turned to leave. But when no one else was looking, Frollo ducked around a pillar and doubled back. As the remainder of the people had passed, Frollo jumped out, grabbed Esmeralda's arm and twisted it behind her sharply, making her gasp in pain and anger. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear, his foul breath wafting across her face.

"You think you've outwitted me, but I am a patient man, and gypsies don't do well inside stone walls," he warned, knowing the truth of his words. He paused, becoming acutely aware of her warm, slight body pressed so closely up against his. He then breathed in deeply, smelling Esmeralda's hair as he began to imagine her, willingly wrapped up in his arms...

Esmeralda stiffened, the hair on her body raising in alarm and disgust. "What are you doing?"

"I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful neck." Frollo caressed her neck, but she pulled away sharply, furious.

"I know what you were imagining."

"Such a clever witch. So typical of your kind, to twist the truth to cloud the mind with unholy thoughts. Well, no matter," he said nonchalantly and began to leave. "You've chosen a magnificent prison, but it is a prison nonetheless. Set one foot outside, and you're mine!"

He exited the church with that biting remark hanging in the air, pulling the door shut behind him. She rushed over to another door, only to find guards outside much to her dismay.

"Frollo's orders! Post a guard at every door," one of the men was saying.

She slammed it shut, feeling hopeless and angry. Djali came back to her, trying to comfort his friend. Esmeralda looked at him and smiled.

"One thing, Djali-if Frollo thinks he can keep us here, he's wrong."

She would find a way out of here, she had too.

The archdeacon overheard her comment and regarded her softly. "Don't act rashly, child. You created quite a stir at the festival. It would be unwise to arouse Frollo's anger further."

Esmeralda walked alongside him as they enter further into the church.

"You saw what he did out there, letting the crowd torture that poor boy. I thought if just one person could stand up to him, then…" She sighed, calming herself before she got too worked up. "What do they have against people who are different, anyway?"

"You can't right all the wrongs in this world by yourself."

"No one out there's going to help, that's for sure."

"Perhaps there's someone in here who can." He gracefully motioned towards the inside of the church, then left.

Hesitating for only a moment, Esmeralda moved into the church, feeling a little out of place. She had never prayed before, but she had often seen her mother doing it before she had died. She had been taught to respect all religions, all people, but to also follow your own path and speak from your heart. Taking a deep breath, she prayed, having a silent conversation with her lord as she walked through the church, gazing upon all the heavenly statues.

"I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there. I wouldn't blame you if you chose to not listen to a gypsy's prayer. I'm an outcast, but God, please help us, the others like me. Please show them the mercy they will never find on this planet. Please help my people, for we still look to you for guidance. Please help the outcasts when nobody will…"

She walked through the church slowly, as the shadows of those walking past her float over her. She silently listened to their prayers, wondering what it was these people could possibly ask for when they already had everything. They were all shallow prayers, wishes and dreams that were greedy and selfish. They all either asked for wealth, fame, or glory. It was sad, seeing these people who had some much, and yet only craved more instead of being grateful for what they had. Esmeralda was slowly moving to the light streaming through a giant stained glass window as she listened, pondering their words. Meanwhile, upstairs, Quasi heard Esmeralda's voice, and, despite his better judgement, he quickly came downstairs to watch her. What she had done at the festival shocked him. She hadn't been afraid of him at all, she'd been guilty and ashamed for what the people had done to him though he deserved nothing more. She had been an angel, his savior, and ever since he had come back into his sanctuary, her face had been at the forefront of his thoughts, her image haunting his mind. As he watched her from a safe distance, he felt his heart skip a few beats, following every move of her beautiful, graceful figure.

Esmeralda continued to pray, unaware of Quasi's presence.

"I ask for nothing, my Lord, I can get by. But there are so many others who need you, so many who are less lucky. So please, i beg you, please help the outcasts of the city, the children of God…" She finished her prayer in the center of the light from the window gazing upwards as she put her heart and soul into every word. It was one of the most wonderful things Quasi had ever seen.

Meanwhile, a parishioner had spotted Quasimodo and was quick to yell at him, causing everyone in the church to look his way, including the woman he had been spying on, much to his alarm. Though he liked her and wanted to be closer to her, the thought of actually speaking to one like her was out of the question. He was too ugly and monstrous to be in the presence of an angel such as she.

"You! Bell ringer! What are you doing down here!?" the man shouted, his voice ringing through the church.

Startled, Quasi jumped and knocked over a candle staff, which clattered to the stone floor with a loud bang.

The man continued shouting as the hunchback backed away. "Haven't you caused enough trouble already?"

Quasi ran off to his staircase, desperate to be free of the people's prying angry eyes.

Esmeralda spotted him and gave chase, wanting to apologize for the part she played in his torment. She felt intensely guilty about it, and she knew she had to fix things.

"Wait! I want to talk to you," she called after him, following him as quickly as possible.

Quasi refused to stop, too frightened, and came out the top of the staircase, followed by Esmeralda and Djali.

The 'gargoyles watched from above. Laverne smiled at the sight of the girl following her friend.

"Look! He's got a friend with him."

Hugo nodded approvingly. "Yeah, maybe today wasn't a total loss after all."

Victor looked at the woman and felt his heart swell with joy. "A vision of loveliness!"

"The one in the dress ain't bad either," Hugo said, apparently his eyes on the goat instead of the girl.

Quasi reached his room, where the 'goyles greeted him with cheers.

"Quasi!"

"Congratulations!"

"Got the girls chasing you already!"

"Actually, I-" he began, out of breath.

Victor was too excited and talked right over him, as did the others. "You mustn't run too fast, or she'll get away!"

"Yes, ah, ah, ah, I know. That's what-"

Hugo jumped forward. "Give her some slack, then reel her in, then give her some slack, then reel her in, then give her some slack-"

Laverne slapped him. "Knock it off, Hugo-she's a girl, not a mackerel."

Esmeralda finally entered, and the 'goyles went stone immediately as she caught up to Quasi. He had no other option now but to face her, much to his dismay.

"Here you are. I was afraid I'd lost you," she panted slightly.

Quasimodo couldn't look his angel in the eye. "Yes. Um, well, I uh, I have chores to do. It was, uh, nice...seeing...you...again. Ohh…"

"No, wait!"

Djali was examining Hugo when he briefly came to life, made kissing faces at Djali, then went back to stone. Djali was confused and shook his head, wondering what had just happened.

Esmeralda gave chase to the once again fleeing Quasimodo. "I'm really sorry about this afternoon. I had no idea who you were. I would never in my life had...pulled...you...up on the...stage."

She slowed down as she reached Quasimodo's room, with its dangling glass mobile and model of the city.

She was in awe.

"What is this place?"

Quasi looked around, uncomfortable and distressed as she gazed at his belongings. "This is where I live."

"Did you make all these things yourself?"

"Most of them."

He really wished now he had taken more time on them and done a better job...

She fingered the mobile.

"This is beautiful. If I could do this, you wouldn't find me dancing in the streets for coins," Esmeralda said, completely amazed by the skill and craftsmanship it took to make all these things.

Quasimodo was shocked by her compliment. "But you're a wonderful dancer."

Esmeralda smiled slightly, embarrassed. "Well, it keeps bread on the table, anyway. What's this?"

"Oh, no, please oh, I'm not finished-I still have to paint them…" he said, rushing forward.

Esmeralda ignored him and removed the cloth covering two figures. She regarded them in delighted surprise. "The blacksmith, and the baker…."

The figures looked exactly like the people she passed by everyday.

"You're a surprising person, Quasimodo. Not to mention lucky. All this room to yourself…" She had never had a room to call her own, not once in her life. Everything she had ever owned or had was also owned and had by others as well. She didn't mind the fact that she had nothing to really call her own, but still.

Quasimodo hesitated, feeling more and more comfortable as she continued to talk with him. How amazing was it that she could look at him without fear? How wonderful it was to talk to someone human, someone real and new. And someone as beautiful and captivating as Esmeralda… She really was his angel…

"Well, it's not just me-there's the gargoyles, and of course the bells. Would you like to see them?" he asked, smiling slightly as his confidence grew more and more. He found her to be very easy to talk to and be around. She had an open and welcoming kind of personality that he had never seen before. It was endearing.

"Yes, of course. Wouldn't we, Djali?"

Djali, who has been munching on an unpainted figure, slurped it into his mouth.

Quasimodo smiled and led her to the bell tower. "Follow me. I'll introduce you."

"Never knew there were so many," she said, looking around curiously.

"That's Little Sophia, and…" He spoke quickly, winging from bell to bell as he named them off. "Jean Marie, Ann Marie, and Louise Marie. Triplets, you know."

Esmeralda approached one of the biggest bells in the room, looking at her reflection. "And who's this?"

"Big Marie."

From under Big Marie, Esmeralda shouted a "Hello!", which echoed and resonated richly with the loveliest of sounds.

Quasimodo followed her and smiled admiringly up at Esmeralda. "She likes you."

And who wouldn't, with someone as brave and beautiful and kind as you?

"Would you like to see more?" he asked, liking the warm fuzzy feelings that were bubbling through him.

Esmeralda nodded and turned to her pet. "How 'bout it, Djali?"

Djali, under Big Marie, belched loudly, which in turn echoed and resonated richly.

Esmeralda laughed. "We'd love to."

"Good. I've saved the best for last!"

Quasi and Esmeralda proceeded outside to a beautiful view of Paris and the Seine. Esmeralda was wonder struck by the amazing view before them. The setting sun painted the sky in stunning hues of orange, purple, red and pink over the city, creating a magical effect.

"I bet the king himself doesn't have a view like this! I could stay up here forever," she sighed, closing her eyes as the wind gently blew her raven dark hair around her.

Please do...please don't leave me. I like you... Quasimodo instead kept his thoughts to his self but hedged at the idea of her staying with him.

"You could, you know," he said timidly.

"No, I couldn't."

"Oh, yes, you have sanctuary!"

"But not freedom. Gypsies don't do well inside stone walls…" she said darkly, crossing her arms as she glared at the street below.

Desperate to find a way for her to stay, he pressed forward.

"But you're not like other gypsies. They're...evil."

Esmeralda started and turned back to him, surprised by this. "Who told you that?"

Quasimodo looked away as she took a seat away from the ledge, resting on the shingles on the flat section of roof. "My master, Frollo. He raised me."

Esmeralda balked inside. Frollo was responsible for this boy? No wonder he was so afraid of things, of people in general. Frollo had probably verbally and mentally abused him until he was nothing more than a fragile shell, waiting for everything to fall apart in his world at the blink of an eye. That's probably what it had felt like today when the people had mocked him...

"How could such a cruel man have raised someone like you?" she said sadly, feeling deeply sorry that Quasi had been stuck with the man.

Quasimodo shook his head immediately at this but Esmeralda could see the tiniest flicker of fear in his eyes as he spoke of his master.

"Cruel?! Oh, no. He saved my life. He took me in when no one else would. I am a monster, you know."

The way he said it was so matter of fact that it made her sad to see that he truly thought of his self this way.

"He told you that?"

"Look at me."

That was all she needed to hear to know it was true. Frollo knew no bounds did he? Esmeralda looked at the hunchback for a moment before smiling softly and inching closer.

"Give me your hand." She took his hand and looked at his palm.

Quasimodo was confused and hesitantly gave it to her, as timid as a bird. "Why?"

"Just let me see."

Tracing his palm lines with her finger, she read them carefully, showing him which line meant what.

"Hmm, a long life line...oh, and this one means you're shy. Hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm...well, that's funny…"

Quasimodo was frightened by this comment. "What!"

"I don't see any."

"Any what?"

Esmeralda looked back up into his eyes seriously. "Monster lines. Not a single one. Now you look at me. Do you think I'm evil?"

Quasimodo almost laughed at the very idea of this kind, beautiful woman being considered evil. "No, no, no! You are kind, and good, and-"

"-And a gypsy. And maybe Frollo's wrong about the both of us," she interrupted softly, giving him a knowing look.

She had to make him see that her people were not bad and there was no need to fear them, that this was Frollo's propaganda that paint the gypsies as soulless demons. Quasi considered her for a moment, then smiled and nodded. He trusted Esmeralda and believed her with all his heart. For the first time in his life, he was forced to admit that Frollo had been wrong. With Esmeralda as proof that not all people were bad and cruel, maybe Quasi could learn to love the gypsies and even the others instead of living in fear of them. After all he didn't really know any of them, only what Frollo had told him. Maybe they had wronged his master in someway and he was just trying to protect him from harm. One thing for sure was that Esmeralda was a friend, his only and best friend, and he had a debt to repay to her. Quasimodo smiled after a long moment and stood.

"You helped me. Now I will help you." He didn't want to let her go, for fear that she would slip away and be lost to him forever, but he knew it was what she needed.

She did not belong in sanctuary.

Esmeralda looked at him like he'd lost it. "But there's no way out. There's soldiers at every door."

"We won't use a door."

"You mean...climb down?"

"Sure. You carry him," he motions to Djali, " I carry you."

Esmeralda hesitated for the briefest of moments before nodding. This was her only chance to be free.

"Okay. Come on Djali."

Djali hopped into her arms as she opened them for the little goat.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," she said fearlessly as she looped her arms around his neck and got onto his back.

Of course not, Quasi thought with a smile, breathing in her wonderful smell of lavender and freshly baked bread. Quasi leaped over the edge and held on to a gargoyle head.

Esmeralda looked down, her stomach falling to the ground far below as they dangled over the cathedral. She tightened her grip on her new friend and secured her hand around her goat.

"Now I'm afraid."

"The trick is not to look down." Quasi began swinging down the exterior of the cathedral, making his way quickly yet carefully down.

"You've done this before?" Esmeralda asked, her voice trembling faintly with fear.

"No." Quasi finally stopped on a slanted roof and she breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Wow. You're quite an acrobat."

"Thank you-"

His words were cut short as the tile they were on broke free and they began to slide down the roof as if they were on a sled. They were able to jump off their sled just before it went sailing off into the air until it landed a few blocks away. The guards on the ground heard the crash and went off to investigate.

"Check the alley!" one shouted in alarm.

"This way!" another said.

As guards passed, Quasi, Esmeralda and Djali hid as part of a statue. When the coast was clear, they spoke again in hushed tones. Quasimodo smiled slightly, feeling free and a little light headed from the days events.

"I hope I didn't scare you."

Esmeralda smiled back, her emerald eyes sparkling with excitement at being free again. "Not for an instant."

Djali groaned as his heart was only just now beginning to beat again.

Quasimodo felt a pang of sadness to see her leave. "I'll never forget you, Esmeralda."

She hesitated for a moment before she smiled and grabbed his hand gently. The touch of her skin sent electric sparks shooting through his arm.

"Come with me," she said.

"What?!"

"To the Court of Miracles. Leave this place."

As much as he wanted to say yes...to disappear into the night...he couldn't.

"Oh, no. I'm never going back out there again. You saw what happened to me today. No. This is where I belong."

Esmeralda wasn't having that. She couldn't leave him here all alone with no one but Frollo to talk to.

"All right, then I'll come to see you."

"What? Here? But, the soldiers, and Frollo, and…"

"I'll come after sunset."

"At sunset, I ring the evening mass, and after that, I clean the kooisters, and then I ring the vespers, and-"

Esmeralda gave Quasimodo a little peck on the cheek which silenced him immediately and made him blush deeply. "-Whatever's good for you."

Esmeralda then proceeded to pull a talisman off her neck and handed it to Quasi. "If you ever need sanctuary, this will show you the way."

"But how?"

"Just remember: When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand."

Djali bleated suddenly as the guards were returning.

"Hurry! You must go!"

Esmeralda quickly swung down a rope to the ground and ran off into the dark.

Quasimodo watched after her for a moment and then climbed back up to his tower, a smile stuck on his face that wouldn't seem to go away. But as soon as he reached the ledge, Phoebus appeared.

"Hi there. I'm looking for the gypsy girl. Have you seen her?"

Quasimodo got very angry at the sight of a guard in his tower, and a guard who was a threat to his friend no less.

He took a swing.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy!" Phoebus warned, backing up.

"No soldiers! Sanctuary! Get out!"

"Wait! All I wanted was to-"

"Go!"

"I mean her no harm!"

Yeah, sure, Quasi thought, his mind burning with rage and the urge to protect the girl who had saved him.

"Go!" Quasi grabbed a torch and began swinging it at Phoebus, who backed off, but Quasi continued to swing. Backed down the stairs, Phoebus finally drew his sword and swung, pinning the torch against the wall. Quasimodo grabbed Phoebus by the chest in the same instant, pressing their faces close together as Quasi glared him down. Phoebus didn't even flinch.

"You tell her from me, I didn't mean to trap her here, but it was the only way to save her life. Will you tell her that?"

No response. He pressed harder, needing her to understand this. For some reason, he felt a strong connection with Esmeralda and he needed to ensure that she was kept safe at all costs.

"Will you?" he repeated, a little firmer this time.

"If you go. Now!" Quasi finally hissed.

"I'll go. Now, will you put me down, please?"

Quasi realized that he had been holding Phoebus several feet off the floor. Still a little ruffled, he set Phoebus down. The soldier started to leave, then paused, and turned back to say something.

"Oh. And one more thing. Tell Esmeralda she's very lucky."

"Why?"

Phoebus smiled slightly, despite feeling a small stab of jealousy that she preferred the bell ringer to him. "To have a friend like you."

He turned around in left but only because he knew the girl would at least be protected with Quasi watching over her.


	7. Chapter 7

Quasi returned to his room and the gargoyles after Phoebus was gone.  
Hugo was the first to spring forward. "Hey hey! There he is!"

"You ejected that tin-plated baboon with great panache!" Victor praised.  
"The nerve of him! Snooping around here trying to steal your girl."  
Quasimodo balked for a moment as the idea of Esmeralda being his girl danced through his mind. "My girl?"

He found he quite liked the sound of that.  
Laverne came over, beaming with happiness. "Esmeralda. Dark hair, works with a goat. Remember?"  
Hugo clapped his hooves. "Boy, I do! Way to go, loverboy!"  
"Loverboy!? Oh, no, no…" Quasi said, laughing at the idea of it no matter how much he wished it were true...how much he would love it if she thought of him that way.  
Laverne snorted. "Oh, don't be so modest."  
"Look. I appreciate what you're all trying to do, but let's not fool ourselves. Ugliest face in all Paris, remember? I don't think I'm her type…" he said, trying to not get his hopes up even though it was already too late for that.  
The gargoyles slowly melted into the background as Quasimodo began to think about the events of what what had happened with her...trying to sort out his feelings.  
There had been countless times when he watched a happy pair of lovers walking through the streets at night. They'd had a glow around him that he could only describe as heaven's light - a light he wanted desperately to be bathed in.

But he knew that a face such as his did not belong in that warm and happy glow. He did not deserve to be loved, and he especially did not deserve Esmeralda even though he wanted her desperately. As crazy as it was, she had stolen his heart in one day, and now possessed it completely and entirely.

He had fallen in love with the gypsy.

His angel had smiled at him - an angel among a sea of nothing - and she had even laid a kiss upon his cheek without a trace of fear. She had saved him from his dark world, brought him into the light and wrapped him in a blanket of kindness and warmth and care. The place where her soft velvet lips had brushed against his cheek tingled and burned with a roaring fire that did not actually singe him.  
Soon, he found his self daring to dream that she might care for him this way too. They had a bond. An outcast to an outcast. They had saved each other, healed each other in some small way and had protected each other from harm. She had kissed him, promised to return, she'd wanted him with her it seemed just as much as he wanted to be with her. He couldn't have gone together, and who knew what would have happened then. He could easily picture a life with Esmeralda. He wanted that life.

Perhaps she wanted it too.

As Quasimodo rang the bells, he felt the smallest glimmer of hope rise inside of him, and before he knew it, he made the decision to do whatever he could to earn Esmeralda's love.


	8. Chapter 8

At the Palace of Justice, Frollo paced in his firelit bedchamber, disturbing thoughts plaguing his mind and making him restless and uneasy.

I am a righteous man, he argued silently, his thoughts focused and riveted entirely on the gypsy girl. What she had done to him at that festival, the way she had danced and practically perched in his lap, had been disgusting and vulgar, disrespectful and wrong. Yet at the same time, it had ignited a fire inside him that he had never felt before...it had been wrong yes, but it had also been so very very right. So very very good.

He felt his pulse quicken and sweat bead on his forehead as he thought of her, of her long thick hair falling down her back as she danced for him, her red satin dress clinging to every curve of her luscious, delicious body…

No!

This was wrong. He was a priest, a good man, a man of God. He was stronger than the weak and vulgar minded men who crowded the streets of his city! He should not feel these things, should not want them. But despite his arguing, he could not lie to his self.

He wanted her.

As he watched the fire, the golden orange flames seemed to take on a new life and shape, creating the form.

Esmeralda...

She provocatively danced before him, for his pleasure alone, moving her alluring body in ways that made his moth practically water. He yearned to touch her, to feel her heat as she moved before him in the flames. Her smoldering eyes seemed to almost pierce his very soul and despite his horror at his thoughts, his disgust that she was a gypsy - the very race he hated more than anything on the planet...he could not look away.

What was she? An angel or a demon? She had to have been a demon witch, sent upon him by the Lord of the Flames. She had cursed him, cast a spell that turned him to sin. She had started this burning desire that was turning him slowly to sin.  
She was fire. She was hell.

He took out the scarf that she had wrapped around his neck. It tingled his skin and he wrapped it around his hands, rubbing his face against the silk - silk that was probably as soft as her flesh - and breathed in her heady scent. The smell of her made him mad, made him crave for her presence. He wanted her, at that very moment in his room, alone and in his bed. He wanted her under the sheets and there for his pleasure and his pleasure alone.

She will be mine.  
The walls of the room and the flames suddenly became a row of judges, all dressed in red robes as this thought entered his mind.

Frollo was terrified.  
It wasn't his fault, he thought desperately. It was the gypsy who had set him aflame. She had cursed him, and he hated his self, hated that he was only a man, for the devil was stronger than he.  
As he cowered before his visions of dark judges, he begged for mercy, for protection. He hated the woman with a fire almost as strong as the desire he held for her.

Protect me Maria! Don't let the siren cast her spell on me, don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone.

He made up his mind then. He knew what he had to do.

Destroy Esmeralda, as much as it pained him so. She needed to taste the fires of hell for her wicked ways…

But...what if she were to be mine?

The room suddenly returned to normal as a guard pounded on the door, then entered.  
"Minister Frollo, the gypsy has escaped."  
"What!?" Frollo snarled and whipped around.

"She's nowhere in the cathedral. She's gone."  
"But how, and...never mind. Get out, you idiot! I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!"

How could she have escaped! How could she be gone! She was mine!

And yet...she wasn't. The witch was not his just yet. But she would be...she would cower before him, beg for him. And if she did not, if she did not give him what he desired, he would break her fiery spirit. He would crush her soul. He would take everything from her and leave her with nothing before he took her life from her...  
She was hellfire certainly yes...but now it was the gypsy's turn to burn. She would choose him, or she would choose death. That was the only option Frollo would give her.  
God have mercy on us…

But either way, she would be his...or she would burn.


	9. Chapter 9

In the morning, Frollo exited his carriage, his head pounding and his eyes tired after his uneasy night.

Waiting for him was Phoebus.  
"Attention!" he called to his guards before turning to Frollo, hiding his dark feelings that were brooding inside towards the man. "Morning, sir."  
Frollo moaned.  
Phoebus was slightly confused. "Are you feeling alright?"  
"I had a little trouble with the fireplace."  
"I see. Your orders, sir?"  
Frollo glared, his focus returning to him as he pictured her face…

"Find the gypsy girl."  
After that simple command, the rest of the day was dedicated to the troops ransacking home after home, discovering evidence and clues that would take them to Esmeralda.

Eventually, after hours and hours of searching, the did find a group of gypsies hidden in a trap door. They gypsies were then lined up outside, with Frollo looking down at them from his dark horse.  
"Ten pieces of silver for the gypsy Esmeralda," Frollo snapped at them, his hand holding out the jingling coins.  
He shoved the handful of coins out further, but there were no takers, only glares. Phoebus felt relief at this. She would not be given up so easily by her people. They loved her greatly, it was clear on all of their faces. She was the thing that kept them all together. She had protected them, and now it was time for them to protect her.  
Frollo turned to his guards. "Lock them up!"  
As their search continued, they soon found even more of the gypsies. All Phoebus could do was stand by and watched angrily as Frollo's men pushed a carriage into the Seine. As it began  
to sink, gypsies came floating to the surface. Once again, they were lined up, with Frollo surveying them.  
This time, he upped his price, an act of desperation. "Twenty pieces of silver for the gypsy Esmeralda!"

Again, no takers.  
"Take them away!" he snarled furiously.  
Finally, after setting fire to almost every home in the city, they came to a house with a large windmill. The house was the last place they could think to search and Phoebus was relieved that it would be the last of this horrible day. At the same time though, he felt a knot of fear. If she would be anywhere, it would be here. She definitely was not in the city, that was for sure. Frollo's guards were easily able to find evidence of gypsies there. At the moment, he was interrogating the miller.  
"We found this gypsy talisman on your property. Have you been harbouring gypsies?" he asked, his voice dark and menacing.  
"Our home is always open to the weary traveler. Have mercy, my lord," he begged, sealing his fate right then and there.  
"I am placing you and your family under house arrest until I get to the bottom of this. If what you say is true, you are innocent and you have nothing to fear."  
The miller tried to save his family and his self from Frollo's wrath. "But we are innocent, I assure you! We know nothing of these gypsies!"  
Frollo pulled their door shut, then barred it shut with a guard's staff.  
He then turned to Phoebus sharply.  
"Burn it."  
"What!?"  
"Until it smolders. These people are traitors and must be made examples of." He handed him a torch.

There was no way he could do this, not even of it meant facing Frollo and his anger. He had seen enough of the man's cruelty and carelessness for human life for one day. Despite the consequences, he would not send the people inside to their death's, especially the children. It was time for him to put his foot down and stand his ground.  
"With all due respect, sir, I was not trained to murder the innocent."  
"But you were trained to follow orders."

He sighed, obviously not getting anywhere. Well, here goes nothing...  
Phoebus took the torch and doused it in a bucket of water, extinguishing it.  
Frollo's eyes glittered with fury. "Insolent coward."  
He grabbed another torch and touched the flame to the windmill. The entire structure was quickly engulfed in flame.

Thinking fast as the screams of the family reached his ears, Phoebus crashed through  
the window and brought the family outside to safety, dashing through the fire before it was too late. As the building continued to burn, guards grabbed Phoebus.  
Frollo approached on his horse. "The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity-you threw away a promising career."  
Phoebus stared straight ahead, stone faced. "Consider it my highest honour, sir."  
Frollo raised a spear and was just about to kill Phoebus, when suddenly, a stone flew out of nowhere and hit Frollo's horse. The horse bucked, startled, and Frollo was thrown off. Phoebus took his opportunity and quickly escaped the guards by hopping on Frollo's horse and was off.  
"Hit him! And don't hit my horse!" Frollo screeched, staggering to his feet as he watched the traitor ride away.  
As Phoebus rode off, he was showered with arrows. One of them went right through an open space in his armor and through his shoulder. Pain lashing through him, he fell off the horse, stunned. He then proceeded to tumble off the bridge that he was riding over, and into the river. A volley of arrows followed him in.  
Esmeralda, who had witnessed the entire spectacle in disguise, gasped in horror. She didn't know what it was, but it felt like it was her own heart being hit by the arrow and as he watched Phoebus fall, she felt as if all the air had been taken from her lungs.  
Frollo held his men back. "Don't waste your arrows. Let the traitor rot in his watery grave! Find the girl! If you have to burn the city to the ground, so be it!"  
Esmeralda took off and ran down the hill to the river, keeping under cover. She waded into the water, knowing it could be risking her own life but to desperate to save his to care, she dived under. After a few moments, she finally came back up with the unconscious Phoebus who was breathing but barely.

Hold on, my friend, she though desperately, touching his handsome face. Hold on.


	10. Chapter 10

As Paris burned that night, the gargoyles all stood around in the tower, talking quietly.  
Laverne looked around worriedly as she watched the flames rip down homes. "Oh, it doesn't look good."  
Victor nodded. "It's hopeless. Absolutely hopeless."  
Hugo was oblivious to their worry, playing cards with a pigeon. "You're telling me! I'm losing to a bird!"  
Victor ignored him. "Oh, that poor gypsy girl. I'm beginning to fear the worst."  
"I know, but, now, don't you say anything to upset Quasimodo. He's worried enough already," Lavern warned, knowing he was taking it hard and worried sick about Esmeralda.  
Hugo laughed slightly. "Yeah, you're right. We'd better lighten up."  
Victor turned slightly and saw Quasi coming and tried to settle them down. "Shh, shh, shh! Here he comes!"  
Laverne nodded. "Now just stay calm."  
"Not a word."  
"Easy does it."  
"Stone faced."  
Quasimodo came over then and looked over the balcony worriedly, his eyes scanning the burning grounds for any sign of his beloved Esmeralda.

"Any sign of her?" he asked.  
Victor quickly broke up.  
"Oh, it's a lost cause! She could be anywhere! In the stocks, in the dungeon, on the rack!" He began to cry.  
Laverne gave him a sarcastic look. "Nice work, Victor."  
Quasimodo felt his heart drop into his shoes. "No, he's right. What are we going to do?"  
Hugo rolled his eyes. "What are you guys talking about? If I know Esmeralda, she's three steps ahead of Frollo, and well out of harm's way!"  
On "Esmeralda", Hugo showed a Queen from his deck of cards. On "three",  
he showed a 3, and on "Frollo", he showed a joker.  
Quasimodo felt a little bit better. He should have had more faith in his dancer. She was a crafty one, too smart for Frollo. She should easily be able to elude him.

"Do you really think so?" he asked.  
Hugo nodded. "Hey, when things cool off, she'll be back. You'll see."  
"What makes you so sure?"  
Laverne came over and rubbed his head playfully. "Because she likes you. We always said you were the cute one."  
Hugo looked up, confused. "I thought I was the cute one!"

"No, you're the fat, stupid one with the bigmouth!" Laverne hissed.  
"What are you saying, exactly?"  
She ignored him and turned back to her friend. "Take it from us, Quasi. You've got nothing to worry about."  
"Yeah, you're irresistible," Hugo said.  
Victor laughed. "Knights in shining armour certainly aren't her type."  
"And those guys are a dime a dozen. But you? You're one of a kind. Look…Somewhere out there in the night, her heart is burning. And I know they guy she just might be pining for."

"Who?" Quasi said, jealousy pricking at him as he thought of her with someone else.  
"A guy that a girl does not meet everyday. A guy that has a unique look and special personality."

Quasi glared, feeling hopeless. Why would she pick him? They were right…

"A guy like you!" Laverne said, coming over.

He blinked, surprised.

Him?

He looked down at her and she nodded, smiling encouragingly.

"You Quasi, unlike the others, are always a surprise. You may not be the best looking man out there, but you have the truest, most wonderful heart anyone could ask for. There's no way she doesn't see that," Hugo said, confident.

Laverne continued, leading him away from the balcony. "Call me a hopeless romantic, But Quasi I feel it. Any moment she will come through that door. And she will be coming for you. There's no doubt in my kind, she has to love a guy like you."

Suddenly, the door of the tower swung open slightly with aloud creek, making everyone freeze in their tracks. Quasi stood silently for a moment, his breath caught in his throat as he waited, almost afraid to hope his love had returned to him only to be let down by someone else.  
After a long moment, he heard her soft sweet voice call out for him. The sound was like music to his ears.

She was alive!

"Quasi? Quasimodo!?" she called.  
He turned and saw Esmeralda enter.  
"Esmeralda?! Esmeralda! You're all right! I knew you'd come back," he said, folding her fragile body in his arms lovingly.  
Esmeralda smiled as they parted and held him close, looking into his eyes. "You've done so much for me already, my friend, but I must ask your help one more time."  
"Yes, anything," he said, following her as she turned and vanished behind the door.  
Before he could follow her out, she brought in the unconscious body of Phoebus, a sight that froze Quasi in his tracks. What was he doing with her?!

The sight of her arms around his limp body, holding him with such gentleness...it fanned the flames of Quasi's jealousy and sent sharp thorns of hurt piercing through him.  
"This is Phoebus," she explained, her emerald eyes wide with worry for the man. "He's wounded, and a fugitive like me. He can't go on much longer. I knew he'd be safe here. Please, can you hide him?"  
Quasimodo hesitated, not wanting to help the man, but knowing he had to for her. "This way."  
They lay Phoebus down on Quasi's bed. The wounded soldier moaned gently and came to.  
"Esmeralda?" he said, murmuring her name like a prayer.

The sound of his voice made her heart quicken and she worked fast, desperate to save this man's life. They may have gotten off to a rough start, but she felt close to him. He had saved her and after watching his kindness as he risked his life to save her people, she knew she had been wrong before. He was not like the others. Phoebus was far different from any man he had ever met, and she felt blessed to have met him.  
"Shh, shh, shh. You'll hide here until you're strong enough to move," she said gently, brushing back his soft hair with her slender hands.

He followed the movement before meeting her steady gaze. She pulled out a flask of alcohol.  
Phoebus smiled slightly. "Great. I could use a drink."

Especially one shared with you...  
She poured it on his wound, and he cried out in pain.  
"Ah, yes! Hmmm! Feels like a 1470 burgundy. Not a good year," he said, breathing through the pain.  
Esmeralda smiled slightly at the comment. "That family owes you their lives. You're either the single bravest soldier I've ever seen, or the craziest."  
"Ex-soldier, remember? Why is it, whenever we meet, I end up bleeding?" he asked, giving her a quizzical look.  
She ignored that. "You're lucky. That arrow almost pierced your heart."  
He stopped her hands from moving as she finished sewing up his wound. He took her soft, delicate hands and placed him over his heart.

All joking aside, he fixed her with a serious expression and gazed into her eyes passionately. "I'm not so sure it didn't."

As she stared into his eyes that were as fathomless as a sea, she realized something. She loved him.  
They moved closer and closer, then kissed, softly and sweetly.

Quasimodo, in the background, turned away sad, a tear sliding down his cheek as the woman he loved slipped away through his fingers.

I knew i'd never know the warmth from her light...  
Djali, who had been looking out the window, suddenly began to bleat excitedly. Quasi, forgetting his misery for a moment, rushed to the window. What he saw down below sent icy chills down his spine.  
Turning to Esmeralda, he raced back and led her to a door. "Frollo's coming. You must leave. Quick, follow me! Go down the south tower steps."  
Esmeralda stopped before leaving. "Be careful, my friend. Promise you won't let anything happen to him."

As he looked at her, he could see how much she did love him - the man who had stolen her from him. What Quasi had mistaken for love was only simple but strong friendship. Nothing more.  
Quasimodo tried to hide his pain from his angel and nodded. "I promise."  
"Thank you," she said and then she was gone.  
The 'goyles came back to life.  
"Quick, we gotta stash the stiff!" Laverne said hurriedly. They were running out of time.  
They hurriedly dragged Phoebus' body off the bed and underneath the table with Quasi's models on it. He then tried to set his models straight quickly as Frollo entered. He feigned surprise at the sight of his mater's approach. Since they had last seen each other, his view of Frollo had changed entirely. He still loved and respected him, but he knew better now. He knew that Frollo was not always entirely right.  
"Oh, master, I didn't think you'd be coming-" he said.  
"I'm never too busy to share a meal with you, dear boy. I brought a little treat," he said with false kindness.  
After a moment, he cleared his throat slightly, and Quasi realised he hadn't set the table like he always did. He rushed off to grab the dishes, and was obviously flustered, dropping and breaking things.  
Frollo narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Is there something troubling you, Quasimodo?"  
"No. No!"  
"Oh, but there is. I know there is…"  
Frollo had pulled out a bunch of grapes and promptly popped one into his mouth. One fell to the floor, near Phoebus. Quasi cautiously picked it up.  
"I think...you're hiding something," Frollo said, his eyes following every movement like a hawk.  
"Oh, no, master. There's nothing-"  
"You're not eating, boy."  
He quickly gobbled a handful of grapes.  
"Mumbling through the food, he nodded his head. "It's very good. Thank you."

Phoebus suddenly moaned and Quasi moaned similarly, indicating he enjoys the food.

Phoebus sighed louder, waking up. Thinking quickly, Quasi kicked him, knocking him out, then pretended to cough to cover up the noise.  
Quasimodo smiled sheepishly. "Seeds."  
Frollo paused a moment then looked at the models. "What's different in here?"  
"Nothing, sir."  
"Isn't this one new?" He picked up the Esmeralda figure he had spent days working over.

"It's awfully good. Looks very much like the gypsy girl. I know…" A nasty look crept across his face as his voice rose. "You helped her escape!"  
Quasimodo was terrified. "But I-"  
"And now, all Paris is burning because of you!"  
"She was kind to me, master," he said weakly, cringing back.  
Frollo smashed the table and its setting. "You idiot! That wasn't kindness, it was cunning! She's a gypsy! Gypsies are not capable of real love! Think, boy! Think of your mother!"

That hurt him. The sound of his mother nearly brought tears to his eyes but he held them back. Frollo was wrong. Esmeralda had not deceived him. She cared for him - perhaps not the way he wanted, but there was a form of love there.  
Frollo took a moment to recompose himself.  
"But what chance could a poor, misshapen child like you have against her heathen treachery? Well, never you mind, Quasimodo. She will be out of our lives soon enough. I will free you from her evil spell. She will torment you no longer…"

As he spoke, Frollo stuck a knife through the Esmeralda figure and held her over the candle until the wood went up in flames.  
Quasimodo froze, his body going cold with dread. "What do you mean?"  
"I know where her hideout is, and tomorrow, at dawn, I attack with a thousand men."

NO!  
He left at that, with Quasi staring after him in shock and horror. As soon as the coast was clear, Phoebus emerged from his hiding place, his eyes angry and determined.  
"We have to find the Court of Miracles, before daybreak. If Frollo gets there first...are you coming with me?"  
Quasimodo looked at him, looking lost and confused. "I can't."  
"I thought you were Esmeralda's friend."  
"Frollo's my master. I can't disobey him again," he argued, despite his fear for the girl.  
Phoebus was irked at this. "She stood up for you. You've got a funny way of showing gratitude."  
He paused, while Quasi turned away, guilty.  
Phoebus snorted and took that as a no. "Well, I'm not going to sit by and watch Frollo massacre innocent people. You do what you think is right."  
He turned and left.  
Quasimodo, after a moment, turned to the 'goyles who were looking at him with blank expression.

His guilt boiling over, he broke. "Look. What am I supposed to do? Go out there and rescue the girl from the jaws of death, and the whole town will cheer like I'm some sort of hero? She already has her knight in shining armour, and it's not me. Frollo was right. Frollo was right about everything. I'm tired of trying to be something I'm not."  
Laverne was quiet for a moment before she came over and handed him a coat.  
Quasimodo looked at her and she smiled slightly. He huffed but snatched it from her hand anyways.

"I must be out of my mind!"  
At ground level, Phoebus was just exiting the cathedral. No sooner had he stepped outside, than Quasi hopped in front of him.  
"Phoebus!"

Phoebus shouted out in surprise, his eyes wide with alarm.

"I'm coming with you!"  
Catching his breath, the soldier nodded. "I'm glad you changed your mind."  
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for her," he snapped, making his ffelings about the situation clear.  
Phoebus ignored his tone. "You know where she is?"  
"No, but she said this would help us find her." Quasi pulled out the talisman and handed it to Phoebus.  
"Good, good, good! Ahhh. Great!" He examined it for a moment, confused. "What is it?"  
"I'm not sure."  
"Hmm. Must be some sort of code. Maybe it's Arabic. No, no, it's not Arabic. Maybe it's ancient Greek…"  
Quasimodo whispered to himself as he recalled Esmeralda's words from that first night. "When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand."  
"What?"  
"It's the city!"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"It's a map!" Quasi pointed to the centre. "See, here's the cathedral, and the river, and this little…"  
"I've never seen a map that looks like this and…"  
They both talked at once, ending at the same time.  
"...and this is it!"  
"...and this is not it!"  
They both breathed deeply, controlling their anger, then Phoebus give in.  
"All right, okay. You say it's a map, fine, it's a map. If we're going to find Esmeralda, we have to work together. Truce?" He slapped Quasi on the back.  
"Well...okay." Quasi returned the gesture and slapped Phoebus back, a little harder than necessary.

Phoebus winced from the pain as they started off.  
"Sorry."  
"...No you're not."


	11. Chapter 11

After wandering through the city for a while, the pair eventually discovered a quiet, eerie graveyard. They approached a central grave, with a symbol on it.  
"This looks like the symbol on the map," Phoebus said, glancing at the tailsman.  
"But what does it mean?"  
"Hmm. I'm not sure. I can make out an inscription, but it's going to take a few minutes to translate it."  
Seeing something off about the grave, Quasi pushed the lid off it, revealing a staircase going down.  
Phoebus was miffed. "Yes, well, or we could just go down those stairs."  
They ended up in a partially flooded chamber, lined with skeletons.  
Quasimodo looked around, feeling chilled to the bone by the dark place. "Is this the Court of Miracles?"  
Phoebus shrugged. "Offhand, I'd say it's the Court of Ankle Deep Sewage. Must be the old catacombs."  
As they proceed, they failed to notice three of the skeletons rise up behind them.

"Cheerful place. Kinda makes you wish you got out more often, eh Quasi?"  
Quasimodo gave a dry laugh. "Not me. I just want to warn Esmeralda and get back to the bell tower. I don't want to get in anymore trouble."  
Phoebus, sensing something was off, paused. "Speaking of trouble, we should have run in to something by now."  
"What do you mean?"

"You know, a guard, a booby trap…"

Their torch suddenly blew out, leaving them in darkness.  
"...or an ambush."  
Suddenly, the chamber was fully lit, and they saw that they were surrounded by skeletons. The boney creatures forced them to their knees in front of a now unmasked Clopin.  
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" the gypsy said nastily.  
"Trespassers!"  
"Spies!"  
Phoebus looked at the desperately. "We are not spies!"  
"Can't you listen-" Quasi said just as they were both gagged.  
"Don't interrupt me! You're very clever to have found our hideaway. Unfortunately, you won't live to tell the tale," Clopin growled.  
They were quickly led into a complete underground town, teeming with gypsies.

Clopin and the gypsies started chanting a song as they were ushered through the halls, their hands bound tightly.

Maybe you've heard of a terrible place

Where the scoundrels of Paris

Collect in a lair

Maybe you've heard of that mythical place

Called the Court of Miracles

Hello, you're there!

Where the lame can walk

And the blind can see

But the dead don't talk

So you won't be around

To reveal what you've found

We have a method for spies and intruders

Rather like hornets protecting their hive

Here in the Court of Miracles

Where it's a miracle if you get out alive!

Quasi and Phoebus had been taken up to a platform, where nooses were placed around their necks.  
Clopin raised his voice above the talking of the many people below. "Gather around, everybody! There's good "noose" tonight!"  
The gypsies laughed harshly.  
"It's a double header, a couple of Frollo's spies!"  
The crowd booed.  
"And not just any spies! His captain of the guard, and his loyal, bell ringing henchman!"

He turned back to them and started dancing around them gleefully. "Justice is swift in the Court of Miracles. I am the lawyer and judge all in one. We like to like to get things over with quickly because it's the sentence that is really the fun!"  
Clopin was just about to pull the handle to drop the floor out from underneath Quasi and Phoebus.  
"Any last words?" Phoebus and Quasi mumbled through their gags. "That's what they all say! Anyways, we find you totally innocent...which is the worst crime of all so you will hang!"  
Clopin started to pull the handle, but stopped as Esmeralda's shout suddenly echoed through the room, stopping everything abruptly.

"Stop!" the gypsy cried, rushing forward and climbing onto the stage.  
"Esmeralda!" Quasi and Phoebus cried, their voices muffled through their gags.

"These men aren't spies-they're our friends!" she said to Clopin as she removed the nooses and gags.

"Why didn't they say so!?" the male gypsy asked.

"We did say so!" the two men snapped back.

Esmeralda pointed at Phoebus and Quasi as she explained. "This is the soldier that saved the miller's family, and Quasimodo helped me escape the cathedral."  
Phoebus stepped forward and shouted to the crowd. "We came to warn you! Frollo's coming! He says he knows where you're hiding, and he's attacking at dawn with a thousand men."  
"Then let's waste no time! We must leave immediately!" Esmeralda said.  
Gypsies began running everywhere, beginning to pack up. Esmeralda moves close to Phoebus.  
"You took a terrible risk coming here. It may not exactly show, but we're grateful," she said warmly.  
As she moved closer, Phoebus saw Quasi's depressed look.  
"Don't thank me. Thank Quasimodo. Without his help, I would never have found my way here."  
Quasi's face brightened up, but only for a moment.  
"Nor would I!"  
Frollo and his men appeared in the doorway. Soldiers streamed in and surrounded the people  
and swiftly took the gypsies into custody.  
"After twenty years of searching, the Court of Miracles is mine at last." Frollo turned to Quasi. "Dear Quasimodo, I always knew you would someday be of use to me."  
Esmeralda glared at Frollo, her voice low and dangerous as she fixed him with her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Ah...those smoldering eyes, Frollo thought, smirking as he drew closer to his little gypsy. "Why, he led me right to you, my dear."  
"You're a liar!"  
Frollo moved on. He would have more fun with her fiery spirit later. "And look what else I've caught in my net-Captain Phoebus, back from the dead. Another miracle, no doubt. I shall remedy that. There will be a little bonfire in the square tomorrow, and you're all invited to attend. Lock them up."  
Quasimodo crawled forward, begging, his eyes wide with fear. "No, please, master."  
Frollo glared,silencing him. He then turned to a guard. "Take him back to the bell tower, and make sure he stays there."

What have I done? Quasi thought.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, a huge crowd had gathered in the city square to watch the burning of Esmeralda, who was standing on a pyre. Frollo stood next to her.  
Gypsies watched from cages. As the archdeacon came out to see what was happening, guards blocked him off. Frollo had won.

"The prisoner Esmeralda has been found guilty of the crime of witchcraft. The sentence: death!" Frollo called out, his plan going splendidly as the crowd erupted into cheers.  
Grinning nastily, with greed and excitement coiling through him, he leaned in close to Esmeralda, barely being able to contain his lustful feelings for her.

"The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss. Yet even now, it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me, or the fire," he said, his voice choking her like thick smoke.  
Disgusted and appalled by the idea, she spat in his face. He recoiled and wiped his face clean, disgusted and furious. She continued to glare at him with as much hate and anger as she could summon, and the result was intimidating. her emerald eyes sparkled with white hot rage, a rage that made even Frollo step back.  
"The gypsy Esmeralda has refused to recant. This evil witch has put the soul of every citizen of Paris in mortal danger…" Frollo continued.  
Up above, a chained Quasimodo watched the scene grimly, looking at Esmeralda in her simple, white clad dress with a heartbroken expression. His angel was about to be gone. Forever.  
Hugo was trying to rouse him. "Come on, Quasi! Snap out of it!"  
"Your friends are down there!" Victor said.  
Quasimodo was numb. "It's all my fault."  
Laverne started tugging on him. "You gotta break these chains!"  
"I can't. I tried. What difference would it make?"  
Victor was startled. "But you can't let Frollo win!"  
"He already has."  
"So, you're giving up? That's it?" Hugo snapped.  
Laverne gave him a stern look. "These chains aren't what's holding you back, Quasimodo."  
Quasimodo snapped, his anger and guilt raising it's ugly head.

"Leave me alone," he hissed, glaring at them.  
The 'goyles finally gave up, and moved away.  
"Okay. Okay, Quasi, we'll leave you alone," Hugo said, hurt.  
"After all, we're only made of stone."  
Victor and Hugo turned to stone.  
Laverne was last to turn. "We just thought maybe you were made of something stronger…"  
Quasi blinked and then looked back down to see Esmeralda below, about to be burned at the stake.

She can not die...

He began to pull at the chains.  
Frollo's voice reached his ears as he strained. "...for justice, for Paris, and for her own salvation! It is my shameful duty to send this poor girl back where she belongs!"  
He touched the torch to the pyre, starting the fire.  
"No!"  
Quasi began to pull harder and harder. The bells began to quietly ring as he shook the very building, ripping out pillars of stone.

Finally he was freed.

He raced off and grabbed hold of a rope. Leaping off the edge of the cathedral, he lassoed a gargoyle and rappelled down the side of the building. Finally, was close enough.

He jumped off, flew out over the crowd and landed on the platform. He quickly broke Esmeralda's ropes and pulled her from the flames.  
A trio of guards came at him, but Quasi grabbed a torch and swung it at them, scaring them off. He grabbed the rope and climbed back to the top of the building.  
"Quasimodo!" Frollo screamed, furious.  
Quasi reached the top of the building and stood in front of the giant stained glass window of the church. He held Esmeralda's limp body high above his head as her long hair lashed about in the wind, her white dress clinging to her fragile frame.  
"Sanctuary! Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" Quasi cried out, victorious.  
The crowd cheered at his victory, repeating his words over and over again until they formed one voice, shouting to the heavens.

Frollo was not pleased, and he glared up at the hunchback with a violent rage. His time for usefulness was long over.  
"Captain!" the judge ordered.  
"Sir?"  
"Seize the cathedral!"  
Back to the top, Quasi had brought the still unconscious Esmeralda into the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed.  
"Don't worry. You'll be safe here," he said to her gently, brushing her soft hair from her face.  
Knowing she wasn't entirely out of harms way yet, Quasi lept down, then grabbed a beam of wood and threw it at the advancing soldiers on the ground. They scurried away like ants, feeling from the object.  
"Come back, you cowards!" Frollo was seething with rage by this point. He whipped on the guards at Phoebus' cage. "You men! Pick up that beam! Break down the door!"  
The men obliged Frollo, leaving only one guard left to keep the restless prisoners in line. Phoebus, knowing there was no way the man could withstand him, grabbed the guard around  
the neck from inside the cage.  
"Alone at last!"  
He bonked the guard on the head, and as he fell to the ground, he grabbed the keys to the lock. The guards, meanwhile, had begun battering the door. Phoebus unlocked himself, then lept on top of the cage.  
"Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people, ransacked our city! Now he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! Will we allow it?!" he called.  
"No!" they all shouted as one.

Suddenly, impossibly, the crowd that had been cheering for Esmeralda's blood only moments before, was now furious and enraged. As soon as Quasi had swung down and saved the gypsy from harm, something had changed, a light had been shed and it was as if a veil had been lifted, showing all of Frollo's ruthlessness and crulety at once.  
As the crowd began to break loose the gypsies, the guards continued their assault. Soon, the crowd swarmmed around the door.  
"I think the cavalry's here!" Hugo called out, watching from beside Quasi from above.  
Quasimodo saw Phoebus, leading the attack. "Hey! Isn't that-"  
"Feeble!"  
"Doofus!"  
"Phoebus!" Quasi cried, for once grateful to see him.  
The crowds continued to fight on below as Quasi continued to drop things on the advancing troops. Victor dropped a brick, landing square on a guard's head.  
"Sorry! Sorry!" he said, not liking that he had to hurt people even though it was necessary.  
Hugo threw a rock in his mouth, then chomped it up, flew around like a bomber, ending up on the ledge. He began spitting out pebbles like a machine gun, knocking guards out as he went. Meanwhile, Frollo was supervising the guards at the door.  
"Harder!" they yelled, as they rammed the beam over and over into the now splintering wood.  
As the fighting continued, a guard broke the lock off the stockade.  
The old prisoner from the festival was once again free and he stumbled forward.  
"I'm free! I'm free!"  
He stepped into a hole labeled "Mon Sewer".  
"Dang it!"  
A grappling hook reached Quasimodo. He grabbed it, then pulled the rope tight. Three guards smashed into the building. Meanwhile, Victor and Hugo were building a catapult. They finally were finished and ready to fire.  
"Ready...aim...fire!" Victor shouted.  
They pushed the catapult off the ledge, sending it crashing to the ground. Soldiers scattered as it hit and sent wood flying in every direction.  
Victor looked after it, confused. "Are you sure that's how it works?"  
The catapult, upside down, sprang, sending the cart bottom on top of some soldiers.  
Hugo smiled and shrugged. "Works for me!"  
Back down in the middle of the fighting, Phoebus was at it with the first guard he had ever met since coming to the city. Once again, the guard was quickly and easily defeated by Phoebus, and he ended up behind Achilles.  
"Achilles! Sit!"  
And the horse obeyed.

Back up to where Quasi and his friends were, Laverne was sending the birds that constantly liked to roost on her to attack.  
"Fly, my pretties! Fly! Fly!" she cried, cackling madly.  
The guards continued to work on the door.  
"Put your backs into it!"  
Meanwhile, Victor was using Hugo as a bellows to warm up the fire on the lead pot. Quasi attached a rope to it, then dumped it over, sending fire pouring out of the tower and onto the scattering guards below. The guards battering the door ran, but Frollo managed to get inside the  
cathedral safely. As he did so, the archdeacon ran up to him. Now that Frollo was actually inside the church, it was fair game.  
"Frollo, have you gone mad? I will not tolerate this assault on the house of God!" he hissed, his eyes glittering with pent up furry.  
Frollo didn't even blink as he shoved the archdeacon to the ground.  
"Silence, you old fool! The hunchback and I have unfinished business to attend to. And this time, you will not interfere."  
He closed the door and locked it from the inside, cutting his hunchback off from any escape or rescue.

Upstairs, Quasi burst into the bedroom jubilantly, feeling as light as a feather that he had saved the girl he still cared deeply for.  
"We've done it, Esmeralda! We've beaten them back! Come and see!"  
She didn't move.  
"Esmeralda? Wake up! You're safe now."  
He paused, but still nothing. A cold fear settled deep in the pit of his stomach, an icy, gut wrenching knot that sent chills slithering across his skin.  
"Esmeralda? Oh, no!"  
He got a spoonful of water, and tried to make her drink it.

She didn't.

The water simply trickled down the length of her chin and throat before soaking into her thick dark hair. Esmeralda, the girl who had risked it all and won, the one person who saw Quasi not as a monster, but as a man….was gone.  
"Oh no."  
He began to cry and he cradled her head in his arms, gently as he wept over her lifeless body, his heart going to pieces.

His angel had left him...

Frollo entered then and touched Quasi on his hump, just a light touch, a warning touch.  
Quasimodo felt rage and anguish stir in him at Frollo's presence.

"You killed her." His voice dripped with venom.  
"It was my duty, horrible as it was. I hope you can forgive me. There, there, Quasimodo, I know it hurts. But now, the time has come to end your suffering."

Quasi didn't believe a word that his master had said. Esmeralda had shown him the truth of Frollo's wicked ways. He had been played, trapped, and manipulated for his entire life. Now, it was time for the old man to pay.  
Just as Frollo raised his arm, a dagger in his hand poised to stab him, Quasi saw the shadow of the blade.

He turned and struggled with Frollo only briefly, before wresting the dagger from Frollo's hands and backing him into a corner, being much stronger than him even on a bad day. And with all the rage and hurt and pain he was feeling, he was surprised the force of his shove didn't break the man's bones.

Quasi wasn't the monster…Frollo was.  
"Now, now, listen to me, Quasimodo," he warned, fear in his eyes as the hunchback advanced threateningly.  
"No, you listen! All my life you have told me the world is a dark, cruel place. But now, I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!"  
He threw away the dagger, resisting the urge to plunge it into Frollo's black heart.

Suddenly, a noise came through the room so sweet and heavenly that Quasi almost fell to his knees and started crying again. It was a noise that was soft and horse, but it was a noise he thought he would never hear again.  
"Quasimodo?"  
He turned in shock, scarcely believing in it, and saw Esmeralda sitting on the bed, her eyes bleary and confused.

She was alive!  
"Esmeralda!" he breathed, a sigh of pure relief.  
"She lives!" Frollo immediately grabbed a sword.  
"No!" He grabbed Esmeralda and ran out onto the balcony.

Frollo followed, but when he got outside, he saw nothing but gargoyles. After looking left and right, he looked out over the edge and found Quasi hanging there with Esmeralda - fully awake now - in his arms.  
Frollo sneered. "Leaving so soon?"  
He swung his sword, but Quasi dodged the blow by swinging to another spot. Down on the ground, the guards stopped to watch.  
Frollo went to swing again.

"Hang on!"  
Quasi swung off again, just narrowly missing Frollo's sword. Finally, Frollo got Quasi cornered after the crazy stunt.  
"I should have known you'd risk your life to save that gypsy witch. Just as your own mother died trying to save you," Frollo growled, taunting.  
Quasimodo froze. "What!?"  
"Now I'm going to do what I should have done twenty years ago!"  
He swung his cape, covering Quasi's head. But as he tried to throw Quasi off the balcony, the panicking Quasi pulled Frollo off as well. Now Frollo was hanging onto Quasi, who was hanging onto Esmeralda. Frollo threw his cape around another gargoyle, and pulled himself over. He  
stood up and was about to swing at Esmeralda who could do nothing as she boldly stared death in it's crazy eyes.  
"And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!" Frollo cried, preparing for the blow.  
The gargoyle, however, began to crack. Frollo was thrown off balance, his sword sent flying, and he hung onto the gargoyle's head. Suddenly, the 'goyle came to life and roared. Frollo screamed, and the now stone gargoyle broke off, sending Frollo falling to his death.

Meanwhile, Esmeralda was losing her grip on Quasimodo.  
"Quasimodo! Quasi!"  
He slipped loose and began to fall.  
"No!" she screamed.  
He fell right along the building, close enough for Phoebus to catch him several floors below and pull him back into the building. When Quasi saw who had caught him, he and Phoebus hugged in a tight embrace.

Esmeralda came running in, looking at her friend and her prince in relief.

They had won.

After Esmeralda hugged Quasi, he realized something.

Esmeralda was an amazing woman, and she deserved an equally amazing man. Knowing it was time to let her go, he took Esmeralda's hand and Phoebus' hand, and put them together.

They smiled, then kissed, and Quasi smiled broadly.


	13. Chapter 13

Phoebus and Esmeralda were the first to emerge into the light.

As the crowd cheered, Esmeralda turned back to the open doorway. She came back and lead out Quasimodo.

The crowd went silent.

Soon, a little girl cautiously came forward from the crowd.  
She looked at him, then pet his face. They then hugged, and Quasi picked her up and put her up on his shoulder. The crowd began to cheer.

As he moved into the crowd, they did not move away as before. The 'goyles were above, breaking out the champagne.  
"Three cheers for Quasimodo!" Clopin cried out, victorious.  
The crowd broke into loud cheering, a complete opposite of what they had done to Quasi before. It was a nice feeling. After all he had been through, Quasi finally felt that he belonged, that he was equal.

That he was a man.


End file.
